Chained
by Above the Winter Moonlight
Summary: COMPLETE It was meant to be a fun, relaxing vacation; it turns into a struggle against an enemy from Jaden's past, one who is as dangerous as he is vengeful. Truths will be revealed, the true meaning of family will be discovered and Jaden will be forced to confront his past demons if he wants to stand a chance at overcoming his most dangerous enemy yet. Spinoff of Shadow Rise J/A
1. Welcome to Honolulu

**Okay, I don't think I have many notes for this story. Let's see? This takes place within a few weeks of the end of **_**Shadow Rise**_** and the main pairings are Fiancéshipping (Jaden/Alexis) and Cliffshipping (Chazz/Arina) as well as the introduction of my newest OC and two OCs that belong to JxA fan 2000.**

**This story is nineteen chapters long and I have decided that I am going to post one chapter of this story per week so it will take nineteen weeks to finish posting. This is also done so that I have more time to get as far into **_**White Radiance**_ **as possible as I want to stay ahead so that I don't have to keep my readers waiting **_**too**_ **long for the next chapter.**

**As usual, a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader.**

**Uhh, I can't think of anything else to say about this story right now but if there is anything that I have to include at a later time then I will simply post it at the beginning of the chapter.**

**I hope that you like this chapter and this story as a whole, even though it will take a darker turn in the second half of the story, and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Imagine Dragons. I also don't own Arina Zharkov and Keith and Kyle Rhodes, EndlessNight025 and JxA fan 2000 do. I am only saying this once so I will not repeat it in later chapters._

**. . .**

**Chained**

**. . .**

"I wanna hide the truth,

I wanna shelter you.

But, with the beast inside,

there's nowhere we can hide."

—Demons by Imagine Dragons (Album: Night Visions)

**. . .**

**1**

**Welcome to Honolulu**

He remembered the face and eyes of the boy; the cute babyish face of a child, the demonic hate-filled golden eyes of a monster. He recalled gazing into those hypnotic demon eyes, terrified in a way that he has never experienced before, feeling the terror that he often saw in the eyes of his victims. He remembered the way the child glared at him, the chilling way he spoke, the fury that colored his voice and the way the blood that covered his body added to the sinister appearance.

He remembered the pain and falling to the cold, stone floor. He remembered the blood that dripped off the dagger the child still held in his hands and he recalled the child moving faster than he has ever seen anyone move before, like a shadow fleeing from sunlight. He was an incarnate of darkness and hatred and he was the last thing he saw before darkness claimed him.

It was the sensation of cold that pulled him from his deepest memories, breaking him free from the grasp of the darkest moment of his life, the memory that he could not forget no matter how hard he tried; the memory of darkness's incarnate seeking to claim his life in much the same way his brother sought to claim the boy's mother's.

That cold sensation twisted around him, coils of cold wind that swirled around him as if he was in the center of a cyclone and yet, at the same time, he somehow knew it was not natural. He was not outside, he was sure of it as he could hear, in the far distance, the faint beep, beep of what he assumed was a heart monitor, and yet the cold was still there. Perhaps a window had been left open?

'_Wake up,_' a voice whispered.

He wondered where the voice was coming from; it sounded everywhere at once like an echo from a far distant place.

'_Wake_ _up. I am here to help,_' the voice whispered; it was soft, compelling and he found himself trying to obey before he realized what he was doing.

_Who are you? _he thought, somehow knowing the voice would be able to hear him.

'_I_ _am a friend,_' the voice murmured softly. '_I_ _am here to help you, help you gain vengeance._'

_Vengeance?_

'_Yes,_ _don't you desire to avenge the murder of your brother and your companions? Don't you desire to make the family__who__is to blame for your predicament pay?_' the voice said softly.

He had been wanting that ever since he first regained some semblance of consciousness; he had froze with terror at the sight of the demon-eyed child last time and everything had happened so suddenly that he had been unable to process it. In the quiet expanse of his mind, in the darkness he had been tossed into, the darkness he never thought he would escape, he had time to process everything; he had time to come to terms with his fear and push it aside, hide it deep within so that it would not hinder him again.

He could have avenged his brother right then and there had he not been stricken by the shock and terror of seeing a child change as rapidly as that child had; that golden-eyed child who had plagued his long sleep, a specter of his past who clung to his consciousness like a cobweb. At one time, it had succeeded in bringing up old feelings of fear; now, that fear had giving way to the overpowering feelings of hate and anger.

_Yes,_ he thought. _I want them to pay, especially that kid._

'_Ah_ _yes, the golden-eyed child of your nightmares,_' the sinister voice whispered, startling him. Then the voice, chuckling, added, '_I_ _have been present ever since you first started returning to the realm of the living._'

He frowned in his sleep. _What is that supposed to mean?_ he demanded.

The voice didn't respond. '_I_ _can help you get revenge,_' it whispered.

_How? I know nothing about the family who ruined my life other than their last name and the father's name,_ he thought. It had not been by random chance that he, his brother and their companions had targeted the wife and children of Kaede Yuki; he had a personal vendetta against the man who had sent him, his brother and their companions to prison for a crime in which there was no hardcore proof they committed, except the testimony of an unreliable witness, unreliable in Kaage Naka's opinion, at least. However, though he knew Kaede Yuki, he knew little to nothing about the man's wife and children, not even their names.

There was another chuckle. '_You should have done your homework, Kaage,_' it murmured.

His frown deepened. _How do you know my name?_

'_As I said, I have been here for a while, waiting until you regained some more of your strength before I approached you with my offer,_' the voice murmured. '_I_ _know the name of the child who murdered your brother, Kaage, the youngest son of the man you despise._'

_You do? Who is he? And who are you?_

'_I am the one who also seeks revenge against this boy. You may call me Dark Shadow,_' the voice whispered, '_and_ _the name of the boy is Judai Jaden Yuki.'_

**. . .**

"_You have made it to the semifinals of the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament. How do you feel about making it this far into the competition,__Ms.__White?_" The interviewer asked, facing a skinny girl with long wavy white hair and ice-blue eyes who was dressed in a short-sleeved white shirt with a purple vest over it and dark-blue jeans with a duel disk resting on her arm.

"_Honestly, Mr. Park, I'm only a little surprised that I managed to make it this far,_" Celina White—one of the four semifinalists who were one step away from entering the final match in which the winner will be named U.S. Duel Champion—said calmly with a blank expression.

"_I see, and we have all seen you claw your way through the ranks. Any words to say to your opponent this weekend?_" Mr. Park said.

Celina nodded. "_I wish him the best of luck. I know he's going to be a challenge, but I'm ready for him,_" she said.

"She is playing her part very well, Jagger," Slade Princeton commented from where he was sitting on a plush couch, watching the interview. The quarter-finals of the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament had just ended. Slade was looking forward to when his new pawn completed her part of the backup plan he and his brother were forced to implement after their last attempt to achieve control of the world of Duel Monsters failed with their former brother, Chazz.

Slade had discovered Celina White back in August when she won a small tournament being held in San Francisco. He had seen her potential and decided that she would be a good pawn in his and his brothers' plans to dominate the world. When Chazz dropped out of Duel Academy, Slade saw Celina as his chance to keep his plans in motion and took her under his and Jagger's wing, teaching her to be a better duelist, through using the best dueling tutors money could buy. After all, Slade and Jagger were too busy themselves.

After Chazz screwed up his second chance to dominate the world of Duel Monsters during the School Duel, Slade and Jagger decided that Chazz would just be a burden and pushed him aside to focus on molding Celina into taking Chazz's position in their plans, even going as far as to offer to adopt her into the Princeton family.

To their surprise, Celina had declined. She stated that she was happy that they were willing to help her become a better duelist, but she wasn't comfortable with the notion of having a family. Considering her history—Slade had done an extensive background check to make sure his new pawn wasn't a criminal—Slade figured that was because of her parents abandoning her in an orphanage when she was barely a year old.

And now, several months later, Celina was well on her way to being the best duelist in America and, after that, it would only be a matter of time before the Princetons achieved their goal.

"Once she wins, we'll be that much closer to ruling the world of Duel Monsters as well as finance and politics," Jagger commented as he sat beside his brother on the couch, sipping at a glass of wine in his hand.

Slade nodded in agreement. "Her opponent is a tough competitor, however, but, with the deck we have given her, she has no excuse to lose. At least she is actually using the cards we gave her," he said, thinking about his brother and scowling as he recalled his brother's words.

_I thought I could win this duel by myself._

Slade snorted as he recalled his former brother's words before pushing the thought from his mind. He decided not to bother thinking about his former brother; Chazz was only a Princeton in name and Slade really couldn't care less about what happened to him. He had failed them, after all.

_You'd better not fail us, Celina,_ he thought, observing Celina on the television screen before the screen changed to focus on the interviewer.

"_The semifinals of the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament will be held this weekend,_" Mr. Park said to the camera. "_The first match of the semifinals shall be on Saturday between current U.S. Duel Champion, Keith Rhodes, and the Gladiator Beast duelist, Marina Salazar, while the second shall be held on Sunday between Ally of Justice duelist, Celina White, and the Gem-Knight duelist, Nathan Callahan. Two interesting duels to come so keep watch._"

The scene shifted to a commercial and Slade muted it before standing up and stretching. "Let's go speak with our new pawn," he said with a smirk.

Jagger drowned the last of his wine and stood up as well before the two brothers left the room.

**. . .**

Kaage slowly sat up as the door to the room opened. The doctor walked in and gasped in surprise, her eyes widening. "Mr. Naka, you…you're…" she began.

"Yes, yes, I'm awake," Kaage said dismissively before he looked at the IV in his hand. "Now, will you remove this?"

"I am unsure if that is a good idea, Mr. Naka."

"And why not?" Kaage growled, dark-green eyes fixed on the doctor and the doctor, with a swallow, did her best to not flinch from those wild eyes.

"I…We…need to do some…simple tests to…determine if you're well enough to really leave," she said, noticing her voice stuttered a little, but she couldn't help it. The young man in front of her, whom she and the other doctors thought would never wake up, was scary and it was just that look in his eyes, a look that suggested he was not entirely there mentally, as well as the tone of his voice.

"I don't need tests. Let me leave, now," Kaage growled.

"I…am afraid, sir, that we will need to confirm that you are well-enough to leave. You have been in a coma for nine years, sir," the doctor said. She knew that the only reason why they never pulled the plug was because they could only do so if they had permission from a member of the family, though it was mostly because Kaage Naka did show signs of waking during the last nine years.

'_This_ _grows tiresome._'

Kaage held up a hand and shadows coiled around it, caressing it before shooting forward and wrapping around the doctor and pushing her up against the wall. Kaage, his eyes shifting from dark-green to a deep blood red, smirked. "I do not have the patience to deal with this. Now let me leave now, or else," he hissed, his voice turning much colder than before.

The doctor swallowed, fear flooding her body before she decided that this guy looked like he would kill her without hesitation and the way he spoke further emphasized that mad look in his eyes. She didn't want to die over something like this; she had a husband and a daughter to take care of. "O…of course, sir. Just…let me remove that IV and get the paperwork for you to sign. It will only take a few minutes," she said.

"Hurry," was all Kaage said before he retracted his hand and the shadowy bands that had pinned the doctor to the wall vanished. She fell to the ground and quickly scrambled to her feet. After she removed the IV from Kaage's arm, she bolted out of the hospital room, trembles passing through her body as she ran.

While she was getting the paperwork together, Kaage was getting changed, Dark Shadow's consciousness fading to the back of his mind now that they had both gotten what they wanted. Being possessed was not what Kaage imagined it would be, he would admit. He thought that he would be unaware of everything Dark Shadow did, and yet Dark Shadow was, somehow, letting Kaage retain awareness whenever he took over. He had no idea how it worked as he was not that big of a supernatural fan, and knew nothing of possession, so he supposed it could work out that way.

'_It_ _only works this way if the person being possessed gives his body over willingly and desires the same thing the spirit desires,_' Dark Shadow murmured in Kaage's mind.

Kaage nodded before glancing at the golden bracelet that was around his wrist. He had gotten the golden armband the day he woke up. Dark Shadow had explained that the golden bracelet was his secondary Shadow Charm that he had retrieved when he had briefly possessed one of the doctors at the hospital before he woke Kaage up.

'_This Shadow Charm will allow you to use my powers. Otherwise, I would have to be in control of your body every time you want to challenge someone to a real Shadow Duel and that grows tiresome and boring for me,_' Dark Shadow had explained when Kaage had asked about the bracelet.

He turned the bracelet over a few times before he finished getting changed.

It wasn't that simple though. Though the doctor, not wanting to die and leave her husband and daughter, was willing to let him leave, the other doctors and the security were not. Kaage didn't care about them and were not going to let them stop him from leaving; he proved that by killing anyone who tried to stop him.

One doctor, hiding behind her desk, watched as the psychopath left the hospital, leaving a bloody massacre in his wake. She swallowed and then glanced at her phone, hoping the police would catch up with this man before he got away.

Hearing the sirens wailing in the distance as he left the hospital, Kaage ignored them. "How are we going to find the Yukis as it is?" he asked as he allowed Dark Shadow to tale control.

'_That is very easily solved, Kaage,_' Dark Shadow murmured. '_I still maintain a small connection with my last host through one of his cards. So long as he has that card with him, I will be able to track him._'

"How?"

There was a chuckle. '_Oh, dear Kaage, do you honestly think I will spill all of my secrets to you? My last host didn't even know the full extent of my abilities,_' Dark Shadow murmured as the two of them vanished into the shadows.

While this happened, Kaage began coming up with potential plots to gain vengeance against the Yukis who ruined his life.

**. . .**

Celina White ran her brush through her long wavy white hair as she sat on her bed, a towel wrapped around her skinny frame. The quarter-finals were over and Celina was one step closer to becoming the next U.S. Duel Champion; normally, she would have been excited at the thought of being that close and she was, but she was also very nervous.

_I've managed to make it this far, but can I keep it up? No, I can't think like that. I've gotta win, _she thought as she stood up, putting her brush on the nightstand before walking over to her suitcase and pulling out a new set of clothes since her old clothes were covered in sweat from the duel. She had just finishing changing into a purple tank top and another pair of dark-blue jeans when a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," she called, tossing the towel she had used to dry off back into the bathroom where it landed in a crumpled heap.

The door opened and Slade and Jagger Princeton, the brothers who had taken Celina under their wing and had the best dueling tutors teach her, entered the room. Since she was going to the semifinals of a nationwide tournament and that would lead her to a shot at attending a worldwide tournament the following year if she won or, at least, took the runner-up spot, she could safely say what the tutors were teaching her was working.

"Mr. and Mr. Princeton," she greeted them as she walked over to her suitcase and began putting her dirty clothes away. "What can I do for you?"

"Just came to check up on you. You were very impressive in your duel, Celina," Jagger said.

Celina looked up, feeling pride go through her. "I was?" she asked.

"Yes, though it's obvious you still need some help in certain areas," Slade said.

Just like that, the pride Celina felt vanished and she sighed. "I know I made a few mistakes, but it won't happen again when I go against Nathan," she said.

"See that it doesn't. You are getting close to becoming U.S. Duel Champion. You cannot afford to make any more mistakes," Jagger said sternly.

"Yes, Mr. Princeton, I know. I will do better next time," Celina assured them, keeping her comment about how she didn't need this lecture again to herself.

"See that you do."

Celina, pulling out her planner from her suitcase, looked through it before saying, "Hey, since that semifinals duel isn't until Saturday, I'm going to go visit the Bishop Museum. I've always wanted to visit it. Do you mind?"

"Not today," Jagger said. "We need to go over some new strategies. Nathan Callahan is not an opponent to be underestimated."

Celina sighed as she tucked the planner away. "All right," she said. The day was almost over anyway, so she doubted she would have been able to make it to the museum before it closed. Besides, she was determined to win and the more she knew, the better chance she had of beating Nathan Callahan.

"When do we start?" she asked.

"Now," Slade replied before he led the way out of the room and his brother and Celina walked after him.

**. . .**

The Honolulu International Airport was busier than usual, but that was to be expected as Duel Monsters was as big in America as it was in Japan and quite a few people had traveled to Hawaii to watch the Semifinals and the Finals of the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament. There were more people there for the semifinals and the finals than for the tournament because the tournament had occurred when a large portion of fans were in school.

After being bumped into for the fifth time since he got off the plane, Jaden decided he hated crowded airports.

He followed his dad, who had insisted on going with them as a third chaperone, though he didn't have a ticket and, therefore, couldn't attend the actual semifinals or finals. Their mother couldn't take off work, though.

Keeping his dad in view was harder than it looked, with how many people were near the baggage carousel grabbing their luggage, but Jaden managed. He kept one hand on Kasumi's arm so that she didn't get lost and she did the same for Raiden as the three of them weaved through the crowd, struggling to escape the congested area.

Finally, they emerged from the airport and Jaden, relieved, breathed in that crisp warm Hawaiian air. "Much better," he said before yawning.

"Tell me about it," Kasumi agreed, also yawning. "So we're gonna meet Alexis, Atticus, Kyle and the others at the hotel?"

"Yeah." Jaden was glad that he would get to see his girlfriend again. He and Alexis had officially become a couple after Alexis's duel against Pierre.

Raiden smirked. "Geez, Judai, it's only been a few weeks since you last saw Alexis. You look like you haven't seen her in years," he said.

Jaden glowered at him. "I do not," he retorted.

Kaede, their father, joined them. "Taxi's here," he said, nodding to the taxi that had pulled up a few yards away from where the sibling were standing. "So, since the semifinals aren't starting until Saturday, I've come up with some things we could check out while we're here, though we should probably wait for a few days while we adjust."

"That'd be cool," Kasumi said as she and her brothers walked after Kaede toward the taxi. "It'll give us something to do."

"We gonna hit the beach, though. Atticus promised to teach me how to surf and we never got the chance last year," Raiden said.

"Because of that sabbatical you were on?" Kaede asked.

"Yeah, we ended up studying nowhere near the ocean," Raiden lied easily. It was decided that, to avoid the parents of the missing students learning about what really happened to the missing students who returned over the course of the year, those students would stick to the story that was in Duel Academy's database.

Kaede nodded. "Well, there are plenty of places to visit here. It's a beautiful city," he said.

"You've been here?" Kasumi asked.

"Back when Raiden and Jaden were real young, I had a business meeting that took place here, so I checked out some of the sights when I had the chance," Kaede replied. He and the Yuki siblings slipped into the taxi and Kaede gave the directions to the hotel to the driver before the taxi sped off.

Jaden watched as the tall skyscrapers passed by until they turned onto a street that drove past the ocean that sparkled under the light of the sun and headed toward one of the hotels that lay near a beach. It was only about a mile away from the stadium in which the semifinals and finals would be taking place.

From what Jaden learned, Seto Kaiba had helped fund the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament, but, considering his corporation was spread throughout the world, Jaden wasn't that surprised. However, as the U.S. Championship wasn't as big an event as the World Championship that would be taken place the following summer, the stadium that was used was not quite as grandiose as it would be for the World Championship.

However, rumors had it that Seto Kaiba and Yugi Mutou, along with several finalists of the first Battle City Tournament over ten years earlier, would be attending the semifinals and finals. Jaden didn't know if those rumors were true or not, but he wished that they were, even if it was doubtful Yugi and Kaiba and the others would duel.

"Do you think the first Battle City finalists will really make an appearance?" Jaden asked with another yawn.

"Oh, I really hope so. I'd love to get Yugi's and Kaiba's autograph as well as Mai's," Raiden said.

"Me, too, and Bakura's and Marik's," Kasumi said. "But they're just rumors, Jay. No one knows for sure if they're gonna show up."

"Still, that would be really sweet," Jaden said before peering at his brother who had pulled out a book and was now reading it. "What're you reading?"

"The book I got last week," Raiden replied.

"Still?"

"I just started it today."

"I would've thought you would start it the day you got it. That's what you usually do." Jaden was sure Raiden's love of reading came from their mother, who was just as much a bookworm as Raiden. He wished that his mother could have come with, but he understood why she couldn't.

Thinking about his mother, Jaden's thoughts went to the brief conversation he had overheard a few days after their last day of school.

_"…believe he's alive. Wasn't he killed?" Kaede was saying when Jaden approached the kitchen door to ask his parents something and he frowned, wondering what his parents were talking about._

_"No, he was only put into a coma. That's what the doctors said and they said that it was unlikely he would ever wake up, but then I overheard them talking about him when I went for my yearly check-up and I asked them. They said he forcefully left, killing anyone who tried to stop him and he didn't look entirely stable."_

_Kaede scoffed. "If he killed anyone who tried to stop him from leaving then yes, he is definitely crazy," he said._

_"Do you think he'll come after us again?"_

_"I certainly hope not, Izumi."_

_"I'm just so worried. Both Raiden and Jaden had been injured the last time he approached us and I'm afraid of what he will do to them to get at you," Izumi said softly._

_"I know, love, but Jaden and Raiden will be safe at Duel Academy and, besides, he can still be arrested for assault and attempted murder since the statute of limitations isn't up yet."_

_"I suppose so. I can call the police now and file charges now that I know he's awake. That'll keep him away from us, I hope. Maybe a restraining order is in order."_

_"Maybe, but we'll worry about that later, love. You have your meeting in Florence to worry about, and I know how important that meeting is for you."_

_"All right," Izumi said. "At least you won't be alone in keeping an eye on our children."_

_"Yeah." There was a moment of silence, then: "Don't worry, Izumi. We'll be fine. I'll call you ever day to assure you that we're fine if it'll ease your worry."_

_"Thank you," Izumi said softly._

Jaden still had no idea what his parents were talking about or who this 'he' person was. He just knew that this person scared his mother and that was hard to do. It wasn't fear for herself, Jaden knew, it was fear for him, his brother and his sister.

"Judai, you okay?" Raiden asked, waving a hand in front of Jaden's face and pulling him from his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he assured his brother.

'_Why_ _haven't you told your brother and sister about this conversation?_' Yubel asked curiously in Jaden's mind.

_Raiden would lecture me on how bad it is to eavesdrop. I swear he's like a second mom sometimes, _Jaden thought. _I wasn't supposed to hear that conversation, Yubel, and if Dad wanted us to know then he would have told us himself._

'_He_ _could want to protect you by not telling you,_' Yubel suggested.

_I guess._

By the time they reached the hotel, however, the fatigue caused by the jetlag finally caught up with Jaden, Raiden and Kasumi and they were fast asleep in the back of the taxi when it came to a stop.

Kaede looked at them in amusement. He was used to traveling between time zones because of his job so he was better able to deal with jetlag. His children were not. "Come on, you three, time to wake up," he said.

All he got were three mumbles in response and he chuckled.

**. . .**

Chazz was thankful that he still had money in the account his brothers had set up for him back when he was younger. It was supposed to be to help him learn how to manage his money early on and so, while there was a limited amount in it, he could access it whenever he needed it. That was the only way he had been able to gain the money he needed to go to Hawaii for the Semifinals and Finals of the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament.

He hadn't wanted to go, but his girlfriend—Arina Zharkov—had convinced him that it would be fun and, frankly, he didn't have anything better to do. He was lucky his brothers were abroad when he got back to the mainland after the school year ended. He still wasn't sure exactly what would happen to him once his brothers returned to Japan; would he get kicked out of the house? He was already basically disowned in his brothers' eyes, but he didn't know if his brothers would make that legal or if they were just temporarily mad at him.

At the very least, he was able to get a room in the same hotel that his—acquaintances? He honestly didn't know if he considered them friends, even after all they have been through together—were staying. And the hotel was rather nice with a clear view of the ocean and ready access to the beach, and it was also walking distance from the stadium where the semifinals and finals were taking place later in the week.

The room Chazz had reserved for himself was also neat. It was large, complete with a four-poster bed covered by a comforter with a Hawaiian print on it and two large sliding glass doors that led into a balcony overlooking both the pool and the beach that lay beyond. It also came with a large private bathroom with white tiled floors, white-wash walls, and a hot-tub.

It has already been a few days since Chazz and his girlfriend had arrived in Honolulu along with the others. It took them that time to get over the jetlag since they all had flown through a few time zones to get there —with the exception of Keith, Matt, and Emily.

"Hi," Arina said.

Chazz jumped and whirled around. "Will you stop doing that?" he protested. He had been about to leave the room to get something to eat and hadn't noticed his girlfriend had join him.

Arina giggled. "Sorry," she said with a bright smile. Arina had become Chazz's girlfriend officially right after Jaden's and Kasumi's duel against Kagemaru during the school year and, while the relationship was not all 'lovey-dovey' and 'mushy', it worked for them.

"Jaden and the others are heading to the beach right now. You wanna come with?" Arina asked.

"I guess," Chazz said.

"Great. I'm gonna go get into my swimsuit. I'll meet you in the lobby," Arina said before she flipped forward and walked on her hands over to her room.

_Show off,_ Chazz thought, somewhat fondly, as he walked back into his own room to change. He had packed enough to last him the almost two weeks they would be in Honolulu and so it took him a little while to search through everything to find his swim trunks and his beach towel.

It has been quite a few years since he's been to the beach and the last time, he and his brothers hadn't stayed long enough for him to be able to do anything other than swim. He was actually looking forward to doing more than that, like relax on the beach or, maybe, surf, as he never really got the chance to do that at Duel Academy. He did, a few times, but not often.

'_Hey_ _Boss, we're going with, right?_' Ojama Yellow greeted as he appeared in spirit form in front of Chazz about fifteen minutes later after he changed into his black swim trunks and a short-sleeved shirt and was putting his clothes and stuff back into his suitcase.

"No, you aren't, so beat it," Chazz growled. He also had to deal with the annoying Ojama duel spirits who constantly bothered him, something he still wasn't entirely used to.

'_But_ _it's our vacation, too,_' Ojama Yellow objected, floating around Chazz's head. '_Why can't we go with you?_'

Chazz was about to tell him exactly why, but a knock on his door stopped him before he could.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened and Kyle poked his head into the room. "Hey, Chazz, everyone's ready to go," he said.

Chazz nodded curtly and Kyle said, "We're meeting in the lobby," before leaving the room.

After finishing closing his suitcase, Chazz put his towel over his shoulder and left, making sure he had the key card he needed to access his room in the pocket of his swim trunks, but also leaving his deck behind as he didn't want a few annoying duel spirits bothering him. He headed down the stairs before walking into the lobby where everyone was gathered.

Alexis was standing nearby, leaning against Jaden, dressed in a blue shirt and dark-blue shorts while Kyle was talking with his older brother, Keith—a lean tall young man with dark-brown hair that went down his neck and chocolate-brown eyes set in an oval-shaped face—nearby, Atticus was talking—flirting—with the receptionist and Raiden and Kasumi were standing near the door by their father.

Emily and Matt Rhodes, Kyle and Keith's parents, were standing nearby and they were the first to notice Chazz. "Okay, looks like everyone's here," she said.

"Oh, hiya Chazz, didn't see ya there," Jaden said brightly.

Chazz grunted.

Arina walked to Chazz's side before resting her hand on his. "C'mon, Chazz, don't be such a party dumper," she said.

"Don't you mean 'party pooper'?"

Arina giggled. "That, too," she said as she took Chazz's hand completely in hers.

"Shut it, Slacker," Chazz snapped when he saw the grin on Jaden's face.

"I didn't say anything," Jaden protested.

**. . .**

The beach was filled with people swimming in the ocean or relaxing on beach chairs while children were playing in the sand, building sand castles or digging moats around the castles they had already built. The ocean was lapping at the beach, darkening the sand, though the tide had not yet come in. Children with inflatable tubes around their waists were playing in the water while their parents watched either from in the water or from beach chairs nearby.

The gang found a somewhat empty spot near the middle of the beach, just far enough to avoid the tide should it come in. Arina, Kasumi and Alexis set up beach chairs before sitting down and beginning to rub sunscreen on their arms. Alexis smiled at Jaden before holding out the sunscreen bottle.

"Will you do my back for me?" she asked.

Jaden, forcing himself not to blush, nodded before taking the bottle and walking over to Alexis, who moved her hair out of the way, and he began rubbing the sunscreen on his girlfriend's back. He couldn't help but notice how soft his girlfriend's skin was as he capped the sunscreen and handed it back to her.

"Hey, Atticus, will ya teach me how to surf now?" Raiden asked Atticus, who was standing nearby with a surfboard in his arms.

"Sure," Atticus said with a grin.

Jaden smirked as he leaned over to where his sister had just finished putting on sunscreen. "Ten bucks says Raiden wipes out within the first five minutes," he said.

Kasumi chuckled. "That's my souvenir money, so no deal," she said.

Jaden chuckled as he stood up and stretched. "I'm going for a swim. Anyone coming with?"

Kyle also stood up, as did Keith while Arina sat down on her beach chair. Emily and Matt Rhodes were sitting down on a beach blanket nearby while Chazz was setting up his own beach chair next to Arina's.

Jaden, Kyle and Keith made their way into the ocean and were swimming around while their other friends relaxed and talked with each other on the beach. Chazz and Arina eventually joined them in the water, though Chazz seemed a little reluctant.

"You won't melt, Chazz," Jaden pointed out.

"Shut it, Slacker," Chazz snapped as he swam out of the shallows to where the others were.

"Hey, look, there're Atticus and Raiden," Kyle said, pointing and Jaden glanced in the direction Kyle was indicating just in time to see Raiden fall off the surfboard and land with a splash as the wave crashed down. Atticus swam back to where his friend was surfacing while Jaden grinned.

"Nice wipe-out, bro!" he shouted.

"Shut up, Judai! I'd like to see you do better for your first time," Raiden shouted back as he climbed back onto the surfboard.

"Seeing the slacker wipe-out like that would be a sight to see," Chazz mused.

Jaden responded by splashing him.

Chazz sputtered and wiped the water from his face before glaring at Jaden. "Oh that's it," he growled and splashed Jaden back.

The splash fight that followed ended up being Jaden and Kyle versus Chazz and Arina, with Keith watching from the sidelines, having decided not to get in the middle of that, though he did look amused.

Meanwhile, back on the beach, Kasumi was gazing up at the cloudless blue sky above her head. "I wonder what we'll do next or tomorrow," she said. "Dad said that he has some ideas of what to do until the semifinals and the finals, though."

Alexis turned to look at her. "Yeah, Aunt Em and Uncle Matt also have some ideas. I'm looking forward to it," she said.

"Me, too."

**. . .**

The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum was a large museum dedicated to the history, arts, and culture of the Hawaiian people and was busy at this time of day. It was just after noon the day after the gang's trip to the beach and the first place that Kaede, Emily and Matt had suggested they go was the Bishop Museum. Now, they were currently standing in a group near the entrance, trying to decide what to do since the museum was large and it closed at five.

"Okay, there are six different exhibits in this museum that we can visit," Kaede said, glancing at the visitor's brochure he had picked up.

"Why don't we split up?" Kyle suggested. "I don't think we'll have enough time to visit all the exhibits in one group."

"There're six exhibits, so we can split into six groups," Kaede agreed. "What do you think, Matt? Emily?"

"I like that idea," Emily said.

In the end, the six groups were Chazz and Arina, Jaden and Alexis, Raiden and Atticus—"I'm not sure that's such a great idea," Jaden said—Keith and Kyle, Kasumi and Kaede, and Matt and Emily.

"We'll meet back here around four," Kaede said. "Be good and don't get into any trouble." He looked directly at Raiden.

"Yeah, Atticus," Alexis said, looking at Atticus.

"Why are they looking at us?" Atticus protested.

"I know, right?" Raiden said.

The groups split off, each heading to a different exhibit. Alexis was examining the map of the exhibits before she pointed to one of them. "Let's go see this one first," she suggested, glancing at her boyfriend.

Jaden peered at the exhibit Alexis was indicating. It was the Na Ulu Kaiwi'ula-Native Garden. "All right," he said and the two of them, after they figured out where it was located, headed toward it.

**. . .**

Meanwhile, Kyle and Keith had decided to visit the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. While they were walking, they were talking about the tournament. "I've watched the other semifinalists during the quarter finals and they're definitely strong," Keith said.

Kyle nodded. "Who do you think you'll be facing in the finals?" he asked.

"I don't know. Both Nathan and Celina are strong duelists and I wouldn't mind dueling either of them. Of course, I still have to beat Marina," Keith said.

"True. Gladiator Beasts, that'll be a challenge."

The two were still talking when Kyle, accidentally, ran into someone, knocking them both to the ground. "Oh, I'm sorry," Kyle said immediately as he quickly scrambled off the white-haired girl he had just knocked down.

"Nice one, bro," Keith said with a shake of his head and Kyle blushed before he held out a hand.

"It's okay," the girl said as she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, either." She looked down at her feet as she released Kyle's hand.

"Celina?" Keith said suddenly, causing the girl to look up, surprised.

"You're Keith, right? Keith Rhodes?" the girl, Celina, said.

Keith nodded. "Yeah, I didn't recognize ya at first. Congrats on your win, by the way," he said.

"Thank you," Celina said quietly.

"This is my brother, Kyle," Keith added.

"Nice to meet you," Kyle said softly.

"Celina!" a call sounded before Celina could reply and the three of them looked toward it to find a very familiar black-haired young man in a suit walk toward them.

Kyle's jaw dropped. "Jagger Princeton!" he exclaimed as one of Chazz's older brothers came to a stop in front of them.

"You know him?" Keith said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know this asshole. Jaden's fond of calling him that," Kyle said with a shrug. "He and his brother tried to buy out Duel Academy, but Chazz beat Jagger's brother Slade to stop that from happening."

"Oh."

Jagger glared at Kyle while Celina just looked confused before he looked at the white-haired girl. "C'mon, Celina, we've got some things to go over with you for the upcoming duel," he said.

Celina nodded. "It was nice meeting you, Kyle," she said before she walked after Jagger.

Kyle watched her go. He had to admit, she was pretty. He then looked at Keith who was watching him with amusement in his eyes. "What?" he asked.

"You think she's pretty, don't ya?" Keith said.

Kyle blushed, which was an answer all on its own.

Keith laughed before patting Kyle's shoulder.

"So what's the deal with her and the Princetons?" Kyle asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but, from what I've heard, the Princetons took her under their wing sometime last year," his brother replied.

"Oh."

"Keith Rhodes! I saw your duel, well, the rerun of it, and you were awesome. Hey, can I have your autograph?" a girl around Kyle's age asked, walking over to join Keith and holding out a planner.

Keith sighed but nodded and took the pen the girl also handed him before signing the planner.

It wasn't long before other Duel Monster fans had noticed that the U.S. Duel Champion was there and Keith was suddenly swarmed with fans all asking for autographs and pictures.

Kyle, having been shoved out of the way by a few enthusiastic fans, stood near the entrance to the exhibit they had been about to see. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, not at all surprised that he had been brushed off to the side again. Keith was the famous one, after all; he was just the little brother.

**. . .**

In another part of the museum, Raiden and Atticus found themselves entering the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center, which was also filled with a lot of tourists snapping pictures of the exhibits or participating in some of them. There were exhibits on volcanology, oceanography and biodiversity—based on the brochure Raiden was reading—and all of them looked rather interesting.

"So where to first?" Raiden asked.

"I dunno," Atticus said.

The two decided to just wander around the three floors of the center, watching lava melt in one area, sliding down a lava tube in another and even controlling a deep-sea submersible for a little while in yet another area.

**. . .**

In the Hawaiian Hall, Kasumi and Kaede were walking along the first floor of the three-floor hall, called the realm of Kai Akea. This floor focused on the gods, legends, beliefs and the world of pre-contact Hawaii; that was what the pamphlet for the hall said, anyway.

"This is interesting," Kasumi said.

Kaede nodded. "So, are you enjoying this trip so far, Kasumi?" he asked.

Kasumi nodded. "Yeah, I am, Dad. I'm also looking forward to the semifinals," she said with a smile.

Kaede chuckled before his phone started vibrating and he frowned before pulling it out of his pocket. "I thought I shut this off," he said before he glanced at the caller-ID and his frown deepened.

"What is it?" Kasumi asked, uncertain about the look of alarm on her adopted father's face.

"It's your mother. She never calls when she's in a meeting, and especially not when we're both out of the country. International calls cost money," Kaede said. "She will only call if it's an emergency. I've gotta take this. Go ahead and enjoy the hall, Kasumi, and I'll find you when I'm done."

"All right. Tell Mom I say hi."

"Will do." Flipping open his phone, Kaede walked out of the hall and Kasumi, wondering what the emergency was, made her way through the first floor of the museum, occasionally asking questions of the staff whenever she didn't understand something.

She was halfway through looking at the items on the second floor, Wao Kanaka, when her adopted father joined her. She glanced at him, taking note of the alarmed look on his face, and frowned. "What's up, Dad?"

Kaede shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. "Nothing to worry about, Kasumi," he assured her.

She didn't believe him for an instant. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, Kasumi," Kaede said in a tone that clearly told her she should drop the subject.

Though she was stubborn to a fault, even Kasumi could tell that her adopted father didn't want to talk about whatever it was that was worrying him, so she let it go, at least for now.

**. . .**

In the Native Garden, Jaden and Alexis were strolling through it along with several others, listening to a guide as he told them about the plants that were in it and how they were important to Hawaiian culture. There were plants that Jaden had never seen before, as well as some plants that he had seen before.

"This is nice," Alexis said as they wandered away from the group, who were still listening to the guide.

"It is," Jaden agreed, taking Alexis' hand in his as he walked.

'_It's_ _a bunch of plants,_' Haou grunted. '_Who_ _cares?_'

'_No_ _one asked your opinion, Haou,_' Yubel said.

_We never ask his opinion,_ Jaden thought.

'_True._'

"So, where do you want to go next?" Jaden asked aloud.

"I don't care," Alexis said with a shrug and faint blush. "I'm enjoying spending time with you, though."

Jaden smiled a little, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. "Yeah, me too," he agreed.

**. . .**

In the Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kahili Room, Chazz—who could not pronounce the name of the room to save his life—was walking alongside Arina, looking at the various displays and listening to Arina talk.

"Some of these things are rather cool-looking," Arina said.

"I guess," Chazz said with a shrug.

'_I think these things are cool,_' Ojama Yellow said happily, appearing on Chazz's shoulder.

Chazz smacked the duel spirit off his shoulder. "Why did I bring my deck with me?" he grunted as Arina giggled at the action.

'_Because you really like us, Boss,_' Ojama Yellow said brightly.

Chazz growled. "Will ya beat it? I'm trying to enjoy some peace with my girlfriend," he snapped.

'_I_ _gotcha, Boss,_' Ojama Yellow said before he vanished back into Chazz's deck box.

Chazz, relieved, looked at Arina. "Sorry," he began.

Arina giggled. "Quit apologizing for that," she said. "I don't mind it."

The people around him did, though, for they kept giving Chazz weird looks and murmured to themselves about how Chazz should get some help if that talking to himself thing kept happening. It was embarrassing and Chazz, wanting to get away from the whispers, took Arina's hand.

"Let's go over there," he said, pointing to an area of the room that they hadn't seen yet, and where there were less people to comment on Chazz's quirks, as Arina called them.

**. . .**

Around four, four of the six groups met up with each other near the entrance to the museum. Most of them had managed to see a good portion of the museum while others had only been able to see two or three of the exhibits. Kasumi looked around with a frown. "Where're Atticus and Raiden? And Jaden and Alexis?" she asked.

"Knowing the slacker, he got lost," Chazz grunted.

"I resent that," Jaden said with a pout as he and Alexis walked, hand in hand, over to the group.

"Have you seen Raiden or Atticus?" Kaede asked his son.

"They were entering the Pacific Hall, last I saw 'em," Jaden said, "but that was half an hour ago, so I dunno where they could be now."

It wasn't long until Raiden and Atticus joined them, coming from the gift shop with a bag in each of their hands. Atticus was happily strumming a ukulele that still had the price tag on it and Alexis sweat-dropped.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked.

"Gift shop. Only twenty bucks," said Atticus.

"I tried to talk him out of it," Raiden said with a sigh. "But that's like talking to a brick wall at times."

"Hey, I needed a new one since I lost my old one," Atticus protested.

"Well, let's go to dinner now and then we can figure out what to do tomorrow," Emily suggested. "I know a good Hawaiian restaurant nearby we could try out."

"Food?" Jaden perked up. "Sounds good to me!"

Kasumi, Raiden and Alexis chuckled.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was the first chapter of **_**Chained**_**. I hope that you enjoy it**

**Jesse: awesome**

**Jaden: I liked it**

**Blaze: yup**

**Chazz: what will happen next?**

**Blaze: a Duel Monsters convention and the first semifinals match**

**Chazz: oh okay**

**Blaze: yup. And no question this chapter, I can't think of any right now (pout)**

**Bakura: (blowing up random buildings) yeah, yeah, then end the chapter already**

**Blaze: stop blowing up random buildings**

**Bakura: no**

**Blaze: (lifts up flaming machete)**

**Bakura: (puts down bazooka) fine**

**Blaze: well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of **_**Chained **_**and the next one will be posted either next Sunday or next Monday. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated. **


	2. The Semifinals: Dragons and Gladiator

**Hey guys! I actually got this up on one of the days I said I would get it up! And sorry it's a bit late in the day but at least I got it out today.**

**And I got fourteen reviews last chapter? AWESOME!**

**Thank you to **_**DarkZorua100, decode9, a1993, StrawHatLuffy94, UltimateTouken, Sorcerer of the Stories, Kamen Rider Sting, bobmanv2.0, Lightningblade49, EndlessNight025, Lightclaw's Shadow, SuperNeos2, reven228, **_**and **_**iloveyugiohGX93**_** for reviewing the first chapter. You guys are awesome!**

**And, as always, thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader. You are awesome! That is all I shall say.**

**Now, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the first duel of the semifinals, which I think is badass and I cannot take credit for it (I give full credit for this duel where it's due, to **_**EndlessNight025**_**).**

**Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**2**

**The Semifinals: Dragons and Gladiator Beasts**

The rest of the week passed by rather quickly with the Yukis and the Rhodes, and Chazz and Arina, exploring Honolulu, visiting various landmarks, though there were still a lot they had to see. Since they were going to be in Honolulu for almost two weeks anyway, Kaede, Matt and Emily had decided to spread where they would go over the course of the two weeks.

Friday came around and with it came the first day of the Duel Monsters Convention that would only be held during the weekends of both the semifinals and the finals. It was held in an exhibition hall near the stadium where the semifinals and finals were taking place. Keith and the other semifinalists were required to be there to sign autographs and the like. The reason for this was that many of the semifinalists had quickly gained renown before the tournament began while there were a few who were new to the dueling scene that were quickly gathering their own set of fans.

It was decided that the gang would attend the convention, after much asking from many members who wanted to see what—and, according to the rumors, who—would be there; the friends were hoping that the finalists of the first Battle City Tournament would be there, which was why many were excited. They were also going because Keith, being the US Champion, got all of them free tickets to the convention along with the tickets for the Tournament Semifinals and Finals.

When they reached the convention center, the gang followed Keith, Matt, Emily and Kaede as they led the way through the crowd toward the hall. The hall was large enough to accommodate a large group of people, even with various booths showcasing various items dealing with Duel Monsters, some of which were for sell, like booster packs and starter decks and posters as well as activities for the attendees to participate in. Still, it was crowded and the gang did their best to stay together as they made their way deeper into the hall.

"That's a lot of people," Jaden said.

"Yeah, ten bucks says we lose Raiden within ten minutes," Kasumi said.

Jaden smirked. "No deal," he said.

"Hey!" Raiden protested.

Jaden and Kasumi snickered.

"If anyone will get lost within the first ten minutes, my money's on Atticus," Kyle said.

Atticus pouted. "You guys are so mean," he said.

"You know I'm just kidding, Atticus."

"If we stay together, we'll never be able to see everything they have to show," Kaede said, talking with Emily and Matt nearby. "Should we split up again?"

"It'd make it easier to get around then if we're in a large group," Matt said. "Let's meet outside at three and stay out of trouble."

He and Kaede glanced, as one, at Atticus and Raiden.

"Why do they always look at us? We haven't done anything," Atticus protested, looking in bewilderment at Raiden, who shrugged.

"I dunno," he said. "I'm not a troublemaker."

"Bullshit," Jaden coughed, thinking about the times when Raiden's pranks got out of hand at their old school before they went to Duel Academy. That tendency was one thing that made them so different, and something their mother was convinced Raiden inherited from his father, though Kaede denied it to that day.

Raiden smacked his shoulder and glared at him.

Kasumi chuckled.

**. . .**

The group separated after that, walking in different directions and browsing the items that were being showcased as well as activities that were also put up; these activities included short duel contests, costume contests and face-painting for little kids to name a few. However, all the slots for the duel contest were already filled, so Jaden and the gang could not sign up, much to Jaden's disappointment.

"It's for new duelists, anyway, Jay," Kasumi pointed out. "And I think it'd be kinda unfair for you to be in the contests. Y'know, since you're the top duelist of our year at the Academy and have only lost twice."

"Once, the draw between Zane and me didn't count," Jaden said.

"I always thought a draw meant both participants lose," Alexis admitted.

"Well, I think it's the other way around. Besides, if we both won, it means Zane's undefeated streak—I don't count the duel against Camula—is intact. Speaking of Zane, anyone heard from him?" Jaden asked curiously.

Alexis shook her head. "Last I heard, he was getting ready to enter the pro circuit," she said.

"Shame Sy couldn't come," Jaden said.

"If Keith had enough tickets, I've no doubt he would've agreed to let him come, and probably the others, too."

"True."

While Jaden, his sister, and his girlfriend were talking, they were also wandering around the hall, having left the sight of the duel contests to explore a bit more. There were a lot of things to do and the convention was going to last for two weekends, so Jaden had time.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked, glancing at his girlfriend and his sister.

"Someone's having a costume duel over here," Kasumi said, gesturing toward an area where a crowd of people were gathered. There was a small gap that allowed Jaden and Alexis to see the competitors. One was dressed up as a Harpie Lady while the other was dressed as Phoenix Gearfried.

As Jaden, Alexis, and Kasumi walked into the gap to get a good look at the duel, the boy dressed as Phoenix Gearfried was drawing a card. He currently had 1500 Life Points and two face-down cards while the girl dressed as the Harpie Lady had, no surprise, a Harpie Lady with long pink hair on the field (A: 1300-1600/D: 1400) and two facedowns; she also was in the lead with 2100 Life Points.

"It's my move," the boy dressed as Phoenix Gearfried said before he held out a card. "And I activate my Monster Reborn to bring back my Phoenix Gearfried in Attack Mode." He inserted the card into his duel disk and a warrior identical to how the boy was dressed appeared on the field (A: 2800/D: 2200).

"Phoenix Gearfried, attack her Harpie Lady," the boy ordered and his warrior started forward, lifting his broad-sword.

The girl shook her head. "You should've paid attention, y'know," she said. "Because then you'd realize I have a Trap. Mirror Wall." She pressed a button on her remote and a wall of crystal shot up in front of her Harpie Lady. "Now your monster's Attack is cut in half."

Phoenix Gearfried was weakened (A: 2800-1400).

"Harpie Lady, counterattack," the girl ordered and her Harpie Lady let out a screech as she leapt into the air and sliced through Phoenix Gearfried, causing him to shout in pain and shatter into pixels.

**Phoenix Gearfried Cosplayer: 1300**

**Harpie Lady Cosplayer: 2100**

The Phoenix Gearfried cosplayer growled. "Fine, I end my turn," he said.

The girl drew a card. "Since it's my Standby Phase, I have to pay Life Points in order to keep Mirror Wall on the field, but I think I'll destroy this card instead," she said and her Trap shattered. "Next, I play Heavy Storm to destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field."

A great wind picked up and surged across the field, causing her second face-down and the man's face-downs to be blown away.

"Finally, Harpie Lady, attack him directly," the girl ordered and her Harpie Lady shot forward before clawing through the Phoenix Gearfried cosplayer, causing him to shout in surprise as his Life Points dropped.

**Phoenix Gearfried Cosplayer: 0**

**Harpie Lady Cosplayer: 2100 WINNER**

"And our winner is Ms. Adrianna Brown," the organizer of the duel said, stepping over to join the Harpie Lady cosplayer.

"Shame we couldn't see the entire duel," Jaden said.

"Yeah, that would've been nice," Kasumi said.

"Our next costume duel will be in an hour," the organizer said and the crowd began to disperse.

"So, what now?" Alexis asked.

Kasumi shrugged. "No idea," she said.

"Wanna just wander around and hope we find something interesting to do?" Jaden asked.

"Sure," the two girls said and the three of them began wandering again.

**. . .**

'_This_ _place sure is awesome, boss. Thanks for bringing us along,_' Ojama Yellow said happily as he floated around Chazz's head, trying to see everywhere at once and, since he was a spirit, it wasn't that hard for him.

Chazz scowled at him. "You wouldn't stop bugging me until I agreed," he snapped.

'_That's_ _'cause we don't spend nearly enough time together, boss,_' Ojama Yellow said brightly.

"Gee, I wonder why that is," Chazz drawled sarcastically as he walked over to one of the booths that filled the hall.

'_Aw,_ _I know you like us, boss,_' Ojama Yellow said.

Chazz rolled his eyes but otherwise didn't reply, mostly because he was receiving a few weird looks from the people he was walking by. Thankfully, Arina had gone on ahead and was already at the booth, looking at the various items that were there for sell; cards, posters, and figurines, to name a few.

"So how do you like this trip so far, Chazz?" Arina asked, casting a sidelong glance at the black-haired duelist.

"Eh, it's relaxing," Chazz said with a shrug.

"It is, and Hawaii is so beautiful," Arina said with a smile before she took Chazz's hand and guided him over to one of the tables where food was placed. "Let's get something to eat."

Chazz walked after Arina, toward the table. As he walked, he found himself thinking. Things had changed with him since he first started at Duel Academy. Back then, he realized, he was a bit of a jerk and thought himself superior to others just because he was in Obelisk Blue. Not only that, but he was also motivated to be the best by his brothers, who had been determined to have him take over the world of Duel Monsters. At least, until the School Duel…

The School Duel had changed Chazz's outlook, mostly because of what happened. Despite the fact that Chazz had been a jerk to him ever since he first set foot on Academy Island, Jaden had actually stood up for him, something no one had ever done for him before. And then there was Arina, whom Chazz has had a crush on ever since he came back to Duel Academy, maybe even before, and whom he never thought would feel the same way, especially because of how he acted. Much to his surprise, she did feel the same way and they were actually dating, which was something Chazz never saw coming.

"Are you okay?" Arina asked.

Chazz blinked and pulled himself from his thoughts. "Yeah, why?" he asked.

"You almost walked into the table."

"Oh." Chazz flushed in embarrassment.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Chazz grunted.

'_You're_ _not that great of a liar, boss,_' Ojama Yellow said.

"Shut it, no one asked you," Chazz snapped at the duel spirit and smacked at it, which caused the person standing on the other side of the table to look at him with a frown.

"Don't worry. It's one of his quirks," Arina said dismissively to the person.

Chazz was reminded that he was in public again and, inwardly, he scowled. _Great, these Ojamas are gonna make everyone look at me like I'm crazy, _he thought. Granted, it was his own fault for acting that way whenever said duel spirits spoke to him but he wasn't about to admit anything was his fault. After all, the Ojamas didn't have to bother him while he was in public.

Chazz shook his head, pulling himself from his thoughts as he and Arina walked away from the food table.

A crowd had gathered nearby, Chazz noticed and stopped walking. "Wonder what's happening," he said.

"Well, let's go see," Arina said, taking his hand and the two of them walked over to the crowd.

They weaved their way to the front to see a skinny white-haired girl standing there, accepting planners and notebooks and posters from the various people that were standing around her. In her hand was a Sharpie that she used to sign each thing; she was dressed in black jeans and a white tank top.

"I hope you win this tournament, Celina. You're an amazing duelist," one girl, who looked no more than seven years old, said as she took the poster that the girl—Celina—had just signed.

Celina smiled gently at the girl. "I'll do my best," she said, accepting another planner.

"She'll win. I just know it," a taller boy said from nearby as he happily took the poster.

"Yeah, Nathan and Keith better watch out," another boy said.

"She's cute, too," another boy whispered. Apparently, it was loud enough for Celina to hear, for the whitenette blushed.

Chazz was observing the girl. Celina White, he recalled, one of the semifinalists of the tournament who had, apparently, only gotten noticed a little over a year earlier but was obviously good if she managed to make it to the semifinals of this tournament. He didn't know much else about her other than that and he only learned that much because of the Internet when he had been curious about the other semifinalists aside from Keith.

Celina glanced at him. "Do you want an autograph, too?" she asked.

"No thanks," Chazz said. He paused and then added, "Good luck in the semifinals, though."

Celina smiled and was about to reply when a voice Chazz never thought he'd hear there in Honolulu spoke.

"She doesn't need luck to win," Slade Princeton said as he walked through the crowd to stand beside Celina and smirked. "Hello, little brother."

Chazz ground his teeth together, hand clenching into a fist. "What the hell are you doing here, Slade?" he spat while Celina just looked confused.

Slade sneered. "Is it suddenly a crime to travel, little brother?" he retorted.

Chazz scoffed. "No, just didn't expect a lousy scrub like yourself traveling all the way to America for a tournament," he retorted.

"And why are you calling him 'little brother'? Last I heard, you told him he wasn't your brother anymore," Arina said.

Celina looked shocked at that while Slade snorted.

"Heat of the moment response," he said dismissively.

Chazz didn't believe that for a second. Well, if he was being completely honest with himself, a part of him did, but Chazz didn't think about that part. He was still a bit hurt by what his brothers had said to him after the School Duel, after all. Once again, he knew that family wasn't supposed to treat family like that. Still, a part of him couldn't help but hope that his brothers would be willing to take him back.

He pushed those thoughts aside as he thought about it more. Slade may have said that his words were only said because of the heat of the moment, but Chazz wasn't entirely sure if that really did excuse his words, or his actions for that matter.

"Come, Celina, we've got some things to talk about," Slade said, placing a hand on Celina's shoulder. "Let's go. See you, little brother." Without another word, Slade and Celina walked off.

Chazz watched him go before sighing and turning around, stuffing his hands into his pockets and releasing Arina's hand as he did so.

She placed her hand on his arm. "Will you be okay?" she asked.

Chazz was silent for a moment. "Do you think he's right? Do you think he really did just say those things to me after the School Duel because of the heat of the moment?" he asked.

"Whether he did or not, it doesn't excuse his words," Arina said. "Maybe he didn't mean them, maybe he did but he still shouldn't have said that. You're his brother, you're his family. Family isn't supposed to treat family like that."

"That's what Jaden said," Chazz murmured.

"Don't think about it, Chazz. Let's just enjoy ourselves. C'mon, I think the second costume duel is about to start," Arina said.

Chazz decided that Arina was right. He was on vacation, after all, and he should be enjoying himself and not letting whether his brother meant what he said before or not bother him. "All right," he said and the two of them made their way toward the area where the costume duels were taking place.

**. . .**

"You never told me you had another brother," Celina commented as she walked alongside Slade toward one of the areas where they could sit down and talk.

Slade shrugged. "Does it matter?" he asked.

"I just think it's odd that you never mentioned him. He seems nice, if a bit, erm, grumpy," Celina said.

Slade shrugged. "We're estranged brothers. I haven't talked to him in months," he said.

"Why?"

"That's none of your business. Now, have you developed a strategy for your duel against Nathan on Sunday?"

Celina wondered at the sudden change in subject but decided against asking. It was obvious Slade didn't want to talk about his estranged brother, so she decided not to press. "I have a few strategies. The archetype he's working with is rather new but it's still based primarily on fusions so I'm working on ways to counteract any combos he might pull," she said.

Slade nodded. "Good. Remember, when you beat Nathan, you'll be one step closer to taking the title."

"Yeah, I know," Celina said. "Nathan's a strong duelist, but I'm sure I can beat him." She was determined to beat him, anyway, and that had to count for something.

"And what about Keith Rhodes?" Slade asked.

"What about him? He hasn't won his duel yet."

"Yes, but he has been the champion for the past two years for a reason. I have no doubt he will win in his duel tomorrow."

"Well, if he does, then fine. I'll come up with a way to beat him later. I've gotta focus on beating Nathan first."

"Fine," Slade said. "Just remember that we're counting on you to win and become champion."

"I know, I know. I'll do my best."

"You need to do better than your best, Celina," Slade said firmly. "We've got a lot riding on you winning this tournament. We can accomplish so much, but you must win, and that means you must go beyond just your best."

"Okay, okay, geez, calm down," Celina said.

Slade ground his teeth together. "Don't make us regret taking you under our wing, Celina."

"I won't, but you really should calm down. I mean, so what if I lose? It's just one tournament."

Slade shook his head. "You don't understand how much is riding on you winning," he said.

"Well, duh, you won't tell me," Celina said irritably.

"Just go enjoy the convention. I will see you back at the hotel later," Slade said and walked off, leaving Celina watching him go with a frown.

_What isn't he telling me? _She thought as she headed back to the center of the hall.

**. . .**

Jaden, Kasumi, and Alexis met up with Chazz and Arina near one of the face-painting booths about half an hour after the second costume duel they had seen. "Hey, Chazz, Arina," he greeted them.

"Hi! So what's up with you?" Arina asked brightly.

"Nothing. What about you two?"

Arina shrugged. "Same. We should probably be thinking about finding everyone else. It's almost three," she said.

"Time sure does fly by," Kasumi commented. She pressed her lips together before adding, "By the way, has anyone seen Raiden or Atticus anywhere?"

"I haven't," Chazz grunted.

"We haven't seen anyone besides you three," Arina admitted.

"I hope they're staying out of trouble," Alexis said.

"Me, too," Jaden agreed.

**. . .**

"For the billionth time, Atticus, I'm not letting you set me up with anyone," Raiden said irritably as Atticus, for the third time that day, pointed out one of the many girls that were walking around and talking about setting them up on a date.

"Ah c'mon, Rai, your little brother has a girlfriend, so why shouldn't you have one?" Atticus said.

"Maybe because I haven't met anyone that I like enough to date," Raiden retorted.

"Well, you won't know if you like anyone if you don't talk to them. Why don't you just go up to someone and talk to them?"

"Why don't you?"

Atticus shrugged but didn't answer. Instead, he said, "It wouldn't hurt."

Raiden snorted. "The last time you tried to get me to talk to a girl, I got punched in the face by her boyfriend," he said.

"How was I to know she was already taken?"

"How do you know any of these girls are taken or not?"

"Point. All right, fine, but you really should see about dating someone. Maybe I could set you up on a blind date when we get back to Japan," Atticus said thoughtfully.

"Don't even think about it," Raiden protested.

The two of them were wandering around the convention, though they weren't paying much attention to the booths and activities that were going on around them as they were too busy talking. As a result, they weren't paying attention to where they were going either and that led to Raiden walking into someone.

"Oh, sorry," he said quickly, stepping back from the person he walked into before he started in surprise.

Atticus laughed. "You ran into the King of Games?" he said between his laughs.

"Shut up," Raiden growled, glaring at the laughing Atticus.

Yugi chuckled. "Don't worry about it," he said with a gentle smile. "You wouldn't be the first one to run into me."

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Mr. Mutou," Raiden said.

"Please, call me Yugi," Yugi insisted. "I'm only here because Kaiba asked me to be here and I had nothing better to do."

Raiden reached over before smacking a still laughing Atticus on the back of the head. "Will ya stop laughing already?" he snapped.

Atticus slowly stopped laughing, though he was still grinning. "Wait 'till I tell Lex and Jaden that you ran into the King of Games," he said.

Raiden rolled his eyes. "Judai will probably wanna meet him," he said. He paused before adding, "Speaking of that, can I have your autograph?"

Yugi smiled again. "Sure," he said and Raiden grinned and pulled out one of the posters he had bought earlier before holding it out to Yugi, who took it and signed it for him.

"Sweet! Thanks," Raiden said happily, taking the poster back and rolling it up.

"You're welcome," Yugi said.

"So, can I ask you something?"

Yugi nodded.

"Are the rumors true? Are all the first Battle City finalists here?"

Yugi was about to respond when a shout of "Yugi!" sounded and two people jogged up to join him; one was tall and blonde with brown eyes while the other was a shorter Egyptian with blonde hair and lavender-purple eyes. Raiden was shocked. He recognized both of them; Joey Wheeler and Marik Ishtar, two Battle City finalists.

_Huh, guess the rumors were true. Wonder if Mai and Bakura are here, too,_ Raiden thought.

"There ya are. You disappeared on us," Joey said.

Yugi raised an eyebrow. "I just walked away before I got mobbed by fans," he said.

"I'm surprised you didn't get mobbed when we walked into the hall," Marik said.

"Ah, that's 'cause everyone was distracted by that costume duel that was going on," Joey said dismissively.

"Lex is gonna be so jealous!" Atticus said happily. "I can't wait to tell her that I actually met three Battle City finalists."

"Looks like we've got ourselves some fans here," Joey said.

Marik rolled his eyes. "No, really?" he said dryly.

"Ya don't need to be sarcastic," Joey grumbled.

"Can I have your autographs, too?" Raiden asked.

Joey grinned. "Sure thing, kiddo," he said and took the poster that Raiden handed him before signing it and then handing it to Marik, who shrugged and signed it as well.

At that instant, a phone rang. Raiden and Atticus looked at each other. "That's your phone," Raiden said.

"I thought I put it on silent," Atticus said wonderingly as he pulled out his cell and flipped it open. "Hello?" There was a moment of silence and then Atticus sighed and said, "I'm not getting into any trouble, Uncle."

Another moment of silence passed.

"Okay. We'll be there in a bit. Bye." Atticus hung up before placing the phone back into his pocket. "We gotta go, Rai. The others are waiting for us."

"It's already three?" Raiden said, surprised. "Wow, time sure does fly by. It was nice meeting you three."

"You, too," Joey said and Marik and Yugi nodded politely in response as Raiden and Atticus dashed toward the entrance to the hall.

**. . .**

The following day was the first day of the semifinals. Keith had left the hotel early, as he had to be at the stadium before the doors opened to the public in order to get ready and avoid getting mobbed by fans. No doubt Yugi, Marik and Joey—if they were staying for the semifinals—had to do the same.

"Aw man, I could've met Marik and Joey," Jaden protested when his brother told him about the impromptu meeting at the convention. He paused and then chuckled before adding, "Though it's funny that you met Yugi the same way I did…by running into him."

Raiden smiled sheepishly. "Technically speaking, I _walked_ into him," he said.

"Still."

The gang was hanging out in the lobby, waiting for their chaperones to return. The semifinals weren't due to start for another two hours, but Kaede, Matt, and Emily had decided that it would be best to leave early to avoid the crowds. Since he didn't have a ticket, Kaede was staying behind, but he insisted that it was all right and that he could use the time to relax and visit places in Honolulu that he hadn't had a chance to visit the last time he was there.

He came into the lobby to see them off as Matt and Emily walked into the hotel. "Listen to Matt and Emily, you three," he said to Jaden, Raiden and Kasumi.

"We will, Dad," Jaden said before he and the rest of the gang left the hotel after Matt and Emily.

It didn't take them long to reach the stadium, because of how close the hotel was to it, and, because they had left as early as they had, the lines were rather short by the time they got there. Therefore, they were able to get past the ticket agents and into the actual stadium within an hour of leaving the hotel.

"I feel sorry for those who will be getting here right as the duel is due to begin," Raiden said as he sat down next to Atticus.

Jaden nodded in agreement.

The stadium gradually filled up with people chattering excitedly about the first duel of the semifinals. Jaden could hear that Keith appeared to be the favorite to win and he was looking forward to seeing how good a duelist he was. He had to be good if he was able to retain the title for the past two years.

"Do you think Yugi, Marik and Joey are here?" Kasumi asked curiously.

"I wouldn't be surprised. They're likely gonna participate in the World Championship Tournament next year and both the champion and the runner-up of this tournament are likely to be invited to attend the World Championship, so they might come to see who they may have to face off against," said Alexis.

"True."

"What kind of deck does Keith use anyway? I've been meaning to ask," Raiden said, glancing at Kyle, who sat behind him between his parents.

"He uses a Dragon deck," Kyle replied. "The Horus cards are his main ones."

"You both have Horus cards?"

Kyle nodded. "Yeah, mine were gifts for my birthday a few years ago."

About an hour later, everyone had gathered in the stadium and the air was alive with excitement for the upcoming duel. Jaden and his friends and family had been lucky enough to get seats near the bottom so they had a pretty clear view of the dueling platform. There was also a jumbotron screen hanging above the platform that would allow those who could not see the platform very well to watch the duel. Currently, the screen was showing the highlights of Keith's last duel side by side with the highlights of his opponent Marina Salazar's last duel.

Finally, a black-haired young man walked onto the dueling stage with a microphone in his hand. "Welcome, everyone, to the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament Semifinals," he stated and everyone cheered wildly.

The man chuckled. "Everyone sure is excited. Am I right?"

Again, everyone cheered.

"Okay, then. Let's get to the dueling, but first, everyone, please welcome the creator of Duel Monsters himself, Mr. Maximillian Pegasus!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd as the tall, silver-haired creator of Duel Monsters stepped onto the dueling platform, smiling; there were two black-suited bodyguards standing on the edge of the platform, Jaden noticed. "Thank you for that wonderful introduction, Jackson-boy," he said. "It is great to be here in the lovely state of Hawaii. I have never been here before and so it was definitely interesting to visit such a beautiful state. However, back to business, I came before you to inform you about the Duel Monsters World Championship Tournament that is to take place next summer. Next year, the Duel Monsters World Championship Tournament will be taking place in the beautiful city of Venice, Italy, so I hope to see plenty of fans out there for the tournament."

Jackson nodded as he stepped forward and Pegasus, waving at the cheering crowd, walked off the platform. "Just as Mr. Pegasus said, the DM World Championship Tournament will be held in Venice next year. Tickets for the tournament will go on sale at the end of August. but you can pre-order your tickets at midnight the last day of this tournament," he said. "Now then, why don't we get the first duel of the semifinals underway?"

Cheers erupted, as everyone was impatient to see the start of the semifinals.

"First off, our commentators for this event are Elizabeth Harley and Bryan Stone," Jackson said and gestured to the commentators who were situated beneath the jumbotron screen in a viewing box that allowed them a perfect view of the entire duel.

"And now, allow me to introduce the first competitor. She is the user of Gladiator Beasts who breezed through the preliminary rounds as well as the Quarter Finals. Please give a warm welcome to Marina Salazar!" Jackson declared.

Cheers erupted as a hologram of Gladiator Beast Nerokius, a monster in dark-blue and purple armor with six large bat wings on his back, flew over the crowd as a slim dark-haired girl who looked to be about eighteen years old, dressed in dark-blue skinny jeans tucked into black boots and a short-sleeved white shirt with a duel disk on her arm stepped onto the platform, waving at the cheering crowd.

"Nice way of introducing the competitor," Kasumi commented.

Jaden and Alexis nodded in agreement.

"And now, her opponent. He is the Dragon Duelist and the current United States Duel Champion who has proven time and again throughout this tournament why he has held the title for two years in a row. Please give a warm welcome to Keith Rhodes," Jackson shouted.

"Let's go, Keith!" Kyle cheered along with the rest of the gang as a hologram of Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 flew around the stadium with a roar as Keith, with a smile, made his way onto the platform, waving at his fans and his family.

"Now, duelists, cut each other's decks and we can get this duel on the road," Jackson said.

Marina and Keith walked forward before wishing each other luck as they cut the others' deck and then walked back to their spots opposite each other.

"This is gonna be an interesting match, I'll say that. Gladiator Beasts versus Dragons," Elizabeth Harley said into her microphone so that she could be heard by everyone in the stadium as the two duelists drew their opening hand and Jackson vacated the platform.

"I'll say. I think Keith Rhodes is the favorite, however," said Bryan Stone.

"Are you ready, Keith? 'Cause I'm not going easy on you," Marina said firmly.

Keith smiled. "I'd be disappointed if you did, Marina," he replied.

"Let's duel," they shouted.

**Keith: 8000**

**Marina: 8000**

"I'll go first," Keith said, drawing his sixth card and glancing at it and then at his hand before he smiled. "And I'll start by summoning Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in Attack Mode."

He placed the card on his disk and, with a roar, a small metallic dragon with the head of a falcon appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1000).

"And then I'll end with a card facedown. Your move, Marina," Keith added as a vertical facedown card appeared at his feet.

Marina smirked as she drew a card. "Let's see how you handle this," she said before she held out a card. "I summon Gladiator Beast Laquari in Attack Mode." She placed the card on her disk.

An armored beast-warrior surrounded by a ring of flames appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 400).

"Laquari, attack Horus," Marina ordered and her monster moved forward before punching Horus with one of its fiery fists. The metallic dragon yowled in pain as it shattered upon impact with the ground and Keith winced a little.

**Keith: 7800**

**Marina: 8000**

"Oh, first blood goes to Marina," Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, and now we get to see the special effect of the Gladiator Beasts in action," Bryan agreed.

Marina smiled as Laquari returned to her side of the field. "Now, I Tag Out my Laquari in order to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Tygerius in Attack Mode," she said and Laquari vanished from her field to be shuffled back into her deck. In its place was a pale-green furred large tiger standing on its hindlegs and covered in armor, wielding a sword in one hand (A: 1800/D: 800).

"So she can call out any monster from her deck, no matter the Level?" Kasumi asked. "Wow, Keith's gonna have trouble beating her."

"The only good thing is the fact that the Battle Phase is over, so Keith has time to come up with a way of counteracting this strategy," Kyle said.

"And thanks to Tygerius's effect. When it's Special Summoned through the effect of another Gladiator Beast, I can discard one Gladiator Beast card in my hand and add a Gladiator Beast monster from my deck straight to my hand," Marina added as she discarded a card and then fanned out her deck before picking a specific card. She then shuffled her deck and returned it to its slot. "And I'll place this facedown and end my turn."

A facedown appeared at her feet.

"My turn, then," Keith said, drawing a card. "I activate my face-down, Call of the Haunted, to bring back Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4."

His metallic dragon returned to the field with a roar (A: 1600/D: 1000).

"And next, since that facedown of yours has me worried, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy it," Keith added and the mini-cyclone spun across the field before slamming into the facedown, revealing it to be Negate Attack before it was sent spiraling away.

"Then I Normal Summon my Spear Dragon to the field in Attack Mode."

A dragon with a white underbelly, blue wings and a spear-shaped muzzle appeared (A: 1900/D: 0).

"Now, I activate Rush Recklessly to increase Horus's attack by 700," Keith added and his dragon was surrounded by a red aura (A: 1600-2300).

"Horus, attack Tygerius!"

Horus roared, unleashing a burst of black flames that shot forward and slammed into the tiger warrior, causing it to roar as it was burned to a crisp.

**Keith: 7800**

**Marina: 7500**

"Now, Spear Dragon, attack Marina directly," Keith ordered and his blue-dragon flew into the air before shooting across the platform to strike Marina's gut with its muzzle.

**Keith: 7800**

**Marina: 5600**

"And now my Spear Dragon changes to Defense Mode," Keith said as his dragon curled up on the ground in front of him. "I end my turn and, since my Horus destroyed a monster this turn, I can now Tribute him in order to Special Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 in Attack Mode."

His metallic dragon vanished to be replaced by a much larger one with metallic wings in place of its arms and a long tail, who let out a roar (A: 2300/D: 1600).

"Oh, looks like Keith has taken the lead in this duel and has two monsters on his field, whereas Marina has none," Elizabeth said.

"Let's see what Marina does to come back from this, Elizabeth," Bryan agreed.

"He's taken the lead," Raiden said. "Let's see if he can hold onto it."

"My turn, then," Marina said, drawing a card. "That monster's pretty neat, Keith, but it won't be around for long. I activate my Gladiator Beast's Respite to shuffle two Gladiator Beasts in my hand back into my deck and then draw three more cards." She did so before adding, "And now I summon Gladiator Beast Samnite in Attack Mode."

A large monster with two long teeth like that of a sabertooth tiger appeared on the field, wielding a glowing blue sword in one hand and a rectangular-shaped shield in the other (A: 1600/D: 1200).

"Now, Samnite, attack Spear Dragon," Marina ordered and her monster charged across the field before his blade cut through Spear Dragon and the monster shattered.

"And, with that, I Tag Out Samnite and Special Summon Gladiator Beast Augustus in Attack Mode!" Marina declared, shuffling her deck as a large bird-like warrior in dark-blue and purple armor with two sets of arms; ones that looked to be on the ends of his wings while the others were in their normal positions, one was carrying a sword (A: 2600/D: 1000).

Jaden whistled. "That's a powerful beast," he said.

"And now, since I Special Summoned Augustus through the effect of a Gladiator Beast, I can now summon Gladiator Beast Hoplomus in Defense Mode. Granted, he goes back to my deck at the end of my turn, but oh well." Marina shrugged as a rhino-like warrior appeared on the field (A: 700/D: 2100-2400).

"And I'll end my turn with that," she added and shuffled Hoplomus back into her deck.

"Not a bad monster, Marina," Keith said, drawing a card before he looked at it. "And I'll just place this facedown and end my turn."

"Looks like Keith might have a bad hand," Elizabeth said.

"Well, let's see how he does in this next fight," Bryan said.

Marina drew a card at the start of her turn. "Now, Augustus, attack Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6," she ordered and her monster flew into the air before diving downward, the short broadsword slicing through the dragon.

**Keith: 7500**

**Marina: 5600**

"And now I Tag Out Augustus and Special Summon Gladiator Beast Hoplomus back to my field." Marina said as her bird warrior vanished and her rhino-warrior returned to the field (A: 700/D: 2100-2400).

"Sorry, Marina, but I'm gonna have to stop you there," Keith said, pressing a button on his duel disk. "Go Torrential Tribute. Now, since you summoned a monster, all monsters on the field are destroyed."

An explosion of blue energy erupted on the field, enveloping Hoplomus and shrouding the duel platform in thick smoke.

Marina coughed as the smoke cleared away. "Okay, that was a good move. Fine, I place this facedown and end my turn," she said and a card appeared at her feet.

"My turn," Keith said, drawing a card. "And I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth in Attack Mode."

A purple dragon with two heads appeared on the field (A: 1500/D: 1200).

"Now, Twin-Headed Behemoth, attack Marina directly."

The purple dragon flew rapidly toward Marina.

"Go, facedown, Mirror Force," Marina said, revealing her face-down and Twin-Headed Behemoth was sent flying back to Keith's side of the field before he shattered.

Keith lowered his duel disk. "I end my turn, and that means I can activate Twin-Headed Behemoth's effect and return him to my field in Defense Mode, but with only 1000 Attack and Defense."

His two-headed purple dragon returned to the field (A: 1500-1000/D: 1200-1000).

"My move, then," Marina said, drawing a card. "First, I activate Card of Sanctity so that we each draw until we have six cards in our hands." They each drew until they had a full hand and Marina grinned before saying, "How about a little change in scenery?" She held up her duel disk as the field card slot slid open. "I activate the Field Spell, Colosseum-Cage of the Gladiator Beasts."

The arena changed and now they were all sitting in the ruins of a colosseum with blue veins traveling along the floor.

"While this is on the field, it gains a counter every time either of us Special Summons a monster from our decks and, for each counter, each Gladiator Beast on my field gains 100 Attack and Defense Points," Marina explained. She held up another card before adding, "I summon Gladiator Beast Equeste in Attack Mode."

A centaur-like warrior with large wings appeared (A: 1600/D: 1200).

"And since I have a Gladiator Beast on my field, I can Special Summon Test Tiger to my field from my hand."

A moment later, a tiger with blue, gold, and red armor appeared on the field (A: 600/D: 300).

"He's not staying for long though," Marina said. "Now, I Tribute him and target Equeste to return him to my deck in order to Special Summon a Gladiator Beast from my deck to the field. I choose Gladiator Beast Augustus again."

Soon after Equeste disappeared, the bird-like warrior reemerged on the field (A: 2600/ D: 1000).

"And since Augustus was Special Summon from my deck, my Colosseum gains a Counter and Augustus gains 100 Attack and Defense," Marina added (Colosseum Counters: 1) (Augustus A: 2600-2700/D: 1000-1100)

"Not only that, but because Augustus was Special Summoned to the field because of Test Tiger, I can treat it as though it was Special Summoned by a Gladiator Beast. This means that I can use his ability to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Darius from my hand in Defense Mode."

A purple-skinned horse-like creature appeared on the field; his mane was long and black and he had a black tail with various portions of his body covered in orange-red armor. He also carried a whip in his hands (A: 1700-1800/D: 300-400).

"Because Darius was Special Summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast, I can now select one Gladiator Beast monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it, though all its effects will be negated. I'll go with Hoplomus," Marina went on as her rhino-warrior returned to the field once again (A: 700-800/D: 2100-2200).

"Next, I return Hoplomus and Darius to my deck in order to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Essedarii from my Extra Deck!"

After Marina shuffled the two aforementioned monsters back into her deck, a large, armor-wearing black gorilla in a golden chariot soon took their place, a spiked club and shield in its paws (A: 2500-2600/ D: 1400-1500).

"Now, Essedarii, attack Twin-Headed Behemoth," Marina ordered and her monster charged forward in its chariot before bludgeoning the two-headed purple dragon until it was nothing but pixels.

"Augustus, attack Keith directly," Marina ordered, and Keith winced as Augustus leapt forward and slashed him with his talons.

**Keith: 4800**

**Marina: 5600**

"This is getting good," Jaden said excitedly.

"I know, right?" Kasumi agreed.

"I'll end my turn with that," Marina finished.

"Keith's staring down two powerful monsters. Wonder what he's gonna do now," Bryan said.

"My draw," Keith said before drawing a card. "I activate the Premature Burial Spell and pay 800 Life Points to revive Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6," Keith said, inserting the card into his duel disk as his metallic dragon returned to the field with a roar (A: 2300/D: 1600).

**Keith: 4000**

**Marina: 5600**

"But I'm not done yet." He held up another card and grinned. "I now activate this little Spell: Level Up! Now, I can send Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 on my field to the Graveyard to Special Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 straight from my Deck."

His dragon vanished to be replaced by a much larger, much more magnificent metallic dragon that had to stand in the area behind Keith; it had long arms and a large blue gem on its head (A: 3000/D: 1800).

"Nice, Keith's best card," Kyle said.

"Sweet monster," Jaden said.

"And one with a pretty good effect," Arina said.

"But since you just Special Summoned a monster from your deck, my Field Spell gains another Counter," Marina reminded (Colosseum Counters: 2) (Augustus A: 2700-2800/D: 1100-1200) (Essedarii A: 2600-2700/D: 1500-1600).

"Too bad it won't be around for long," Keith shrugged. "I activate Heavy Storm to destroy all Spells and Traps on the field."

The wind picked up as it surged around the platform and the stadium itself.

Marina smiled before shaking her head. "Sorry, but you're not getting rid of my Colosseum that easily," she said, picking a card in her hand and inserting it into her Graveyard slot. "By discarding another copy of Colosseum in my hand, I can stop my Field Spell from being destroyed by a card effect."

Keith smiled a little. "A good move, but I've got another trick up my sleeve. I play the Spell, Stamping Destruction. Since I control a face-up Dragon-Type monster, I can destroy a Spell or Trap Card on the field and then inflict 500 points of damage to its controller."

Marina swore as Horus was suddenly surrounded in a blazing aura that enveloped the stadium, forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the intense light. By the time their eyes readjusted after the light faded, the Colosseum was gone and Augustus and Essedarii were weakened (Augustus A: 2800-2600/D: 1200-1000) (Essedarii A: 2700-2500/D: 1600-1400).

**Keith: 4000**

**Marina: 5100**

"Oh, that was a nice move," said Bryan. "By using Heavy Storm first, Keith made it so that Marina would have to discard a copy of Colosseum if she wanted to keep her Field Spell in play. And since it was unlikely she had her third copy of that card in her hand, he had a backup to rid the field of that Field Spell if the first plan failed. Clever."

"Dang," Marina muttered, looking at her hand with a frown.

"And next I activate my Brain Control Spell Card to take control of your Augustus, so long as I pay 800 Life Points," Keith added, inserting another card into his duel disk. Augustus seemed to struggle as he was surrounded by a green light as hands stretched out of the card and grabbed him before dragging him to Keith's side of the field.

**Keith: 3200**

**Marina: 5100**

"Now, Augustus, attack Essedarii," Keith ordered and the large bird-warrior screeched before shooting forward and clawed through Essedarri, causing the war gorilla to roar in pain and shatter.

**Keith: 3200**

**Marina: 5000**

"Now, Horus, attack Marina directly," Keith ordered and his Dragon sprang into action, unleashing a blast of black flames that shot forward struck Marina so hard she was nearly tossed off her feet.

**Keith: 3200**

**Marina: 2000**

"And I place one card facedown and end my turn, which means you get Augustus back," Keith said as a facedown appeared and Augustus returned to Marina's side of the field.

"In just one turn, Keith's gotten Marina to less than half her Life Points," said Elizabeth.

"He's doing really well," Kasumi said.

"Uh huh, but then he is the champion," said Raiden.

Marina, wincing, straightened and drew a card. "Oh, you're gonna get it now," she said. "I summon Gladiator Beast Bestiari in Attack Mode."

A bird-warrior with long green wings with a silver Roman-style helmet appeared on the field (A: 1500/D: 800).

"Now I'll return Bestiari and Augustus to my deck to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus from my Extra Deck in Attack Mode!"

In a gust of wind emerged an even larger avian-like gladiator, dark green wings sticking out of its black and red armor (A: 2400/ D: 1500).

"Gyzarus effect activates," Marina announced. "When he's Special Summoned, I can destroy up to two cards on the field, which means you can kiss Horus and your face-down goodbye!"

Gyzarus flapped his large wings, creating a windstorm that quickly blasted Horus and Keith's face-down, Negate Attack, off the field, leaving him defenseless.

Marina then pointed to Keith. "Gyzarus, attack him directly."

Gyzarus, with a screech, flew over to Keith before slashing at him with his sharp talons.

**Keith: 800**

**Marina: 2000**

""Now I'll use Gyzarus other effect to tag him out and Special Summon two Gladiator Beasts from my deck, so welcome back Augustus and Laquari!"

The black-armored Winged Beast (A: 2600/ D: 1000) and the flaming tiger warrior (A: 1800-2100/ D: 400) soon took Gyzarus's place on the field, both in Attack Mode.

"I'll place this facedown and end my turn," Marina said, a reverse card appearing at her feet.

"Very nice move by Marina," Elizabeth said. "In just one move, she has cleared Keith's field and taken the lead."

"Let's see if Keith can come back from this," Bryan said.

"My draw," Keith said, drawing a card. "I activate the Spell Card, Level Modulation. With this, my opponent draws two while I get to Special Summon a LV monster from my Graveyard, ignoring Summoning conditions. Be revived, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!"

After Marina drew her two new cards, the metallic bird-like dragon reappeared on the field in a sea of black flames (A: 3000/ D: 1800).

"But since the monster Special Summoned with Level Modulation can't attack or activate any of its effects the same turn it was brought back, I'll just end my turn for now," Keith said as his turn came to an end.

"My turn," Marina said, drawing a card. "I activate Indomitable Gladiator Beast to have my Augustus gain 500 Attack until the End Phase."

"And I'm gonna have to stop you there, Marina," Keith said. "I activate my dragon's effect, and now I can negate the activation of your Spell and destroy it."

Marina pressed her lips together as her Spell shattered. "Okay then. In that case, I guess I'll just switch both Augustus and Laquari into Defense Mode."

Both Gladiator Beasts crouched down, taking defensive positions.

"And I end my turn with one more face-down," she said.

"With that dragon of his on the field, the duel's definitely in Keith's favor now, even if he has less Life Points," Elizabeth commented.

Keith drew a card. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." He did so before adding, "Next, I summon Blackland Fire Dragon in Attack Mode."

A ferocious green European dragon with horns atop its head appeared and roared (A: 1500/ D: 800).

"Horus, attack Augustus," he ordered and his large metallic dragon roared, unleashing a powerful stream of black fire that sailed across the field.

"I activate my Trap, Defensive Tactics," Marina declared, revealing her facedown card. "Thanks to this, since I control a Gladiator Beast, not only can my monsters not be destroyed this turn, but all Battle Damage I take is reduced to zero. Also, after this card resolves, I get to put it on the bottom of my deck instead of sending it to the Grave."

Horus's flames were blocked a force field, leaving Augustus totally unharmed.

"Nice save there," Keith admitted as he ended his Battle Phase since it was pointless to try to attack with Blackland now.

"Thanks, but it's a whole lot better," Marina smirked. "Since it's the end of the Battle Phase and because Augustus was attacked, I can now return him to my deck and Special Summon another Gladiator Beast to my field. I choose Gladiator Beast Murmillo."

Augustus vanished and was replaced by a purple-and-blue fish creature with red webbing between his fingers appeared on the field (A: 800/D: 400).

"When Murmillo is Special Summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast, I can target and destroy one face-up monster on the field. I'll choose Horus!"

Murmillo suddenly conjured up a huge tidal wave that was set to wash the LV monster away until Keith interjected with, "I activate the effect of Dragonic Knight in my hand. When the effect of an opponent's monster is activated that targets and destroys a card I control, I can send the targeted card to the Graveyard to Special Summon this card from my hand."

After sending Horus to his Grave, Keith slapped another card onto his duel disk, prompting a large green bipedal dragon with long bat-like wings to appear. The creature was covered in sliver armor and wielded a shining sword as it stood tall in Attack Position (A: 2800/ D: 2300).

With its target now gone, the wave the aquatic Gladiator Beast had created quickly receded.

"I set one card and I end my turn," he said.

Marina took a deep breath before closing her eyes and drawing a card. Opening her eyes to look at it, she held it out. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot so that we can each draw three cards," she said and they each drew three cards.

"And I activate my Trojan Gladiator Beast Trap in order to summon Special Summon Gladiator Beast Hoplomus from my hand to your field in Attack Mode," Marina added as her facedown flipped up and her rhino-warrior appeared on Keith's side of the field (A: 700/D: 2100). "And then I get to draw a card." She did so.

"Next, I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Gladiator Taming. By using this card's second effect, I can select one face-up Gladiator Beast monster my opponent controls, and take control of it until the End Phase, which means Hoplomus is back with me."

The rhino obediently crossed over to Marina's field.

"Now I'll return Laquari, Murmillo, and Hoplomus to the deck to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!"

The three Gladiator Beasts on the field vacated the field and, in a bright light, came a colossal, god-like chimera decked out in gladiator garbs, holding a golden shield and axe in its claws as he let out an intimidating growl (A: 3000/ D: 2800).

Gasps sounded from the audience who stared at the new monster in shock.

"Oh, wow, that is such a sweet monster!" Jaden exclaimed.

Kasumi nodded in agreement.

"That's a powerful monster but I'm not counting Keith out just yet," Kyle said.

"This is only the second time that Marina has used that monster! The first time was when she won her quarter final's match. Keith is in trouble here," said Bryan.

Marina wasn't done quite yet, though. "And since I still have my Normal Summon, I'll now bring out Gladiator Beast Lanista in Attack Mode."

A moment later, a winged-beast dressed in green and blue armor with green wings appeared (A: 1800/ D: 1200).

"Here goes! Heraklinos, attack Dragonic Knight!"

The herculean Beast Warrior charged forward, ready to cut down Keith's monster.

"I activate my Trap Card, Mirror Force, to destroy all your attacking monsters!" Keith suddenly declared, revealing his set card.

"Sorry, but that won't work," Marina objected. "Thanks to Heraklinos's effect, I can discard a card in my hand to negate the activation of a Spell or Trap and destroy it!"

As Marina sent one of the two remaining cards she was holding to the Grave, a golden light then emanated from Heraklinos's shield, effectively shattering Keith's Trap. With nothing now holding him back, the Beast Warrior's attack continued, slicing Dragonic Knight in half with his axe, causing the Dragon to let out a roar of agony as it was destroyed.

**Keith: 600**

**Marina: 2000**

"Your turn, Lanista! Take out Blackland Fire Dragon!"

The eagle-warrior screeched before shooting forward and clawed through the dragon, destroying it with little effort.

**Keith: 300**

**Marina: 2000**

"And I Tag Lanista out and replace him with Gladiator Beast Laquari," Marina said and his eagle-warrior vanished to be replaced by a tiger surrounded by flames and in orange-red armor (A: 1800-2100/D: 400). She smirked smugly before adding, "You're looking low on Life Points."

Keith smirked. "I'm still in this, though," he said.

"A very good move by Marina. Once again, she's managed to turn the tables on her opponent," Bryan said.

"She is proving that she is as strong as she was when she was going through the preliminaries and the Quarter Finals. I wonder how Keith will come back from this," Elizabeth said.

"That was a good move," Kasumi said.

"I'm sure Keith can come back from it," said Jaden.

"I draw," Keith said, drawing a card and he smiled. "I activate my Snatch Steal Spell to take control of your Heraklinos."

"Not if Heraklinos has anything to say about that," Marina interjected. "By discarding a card in my hand, I can negate the activation of your Spell and destroy it."

Even as his Spell Card shattered in front of him, the smirk on Keith's lips never faded. "That's exactly the move I figured you'd make."

"What?"

"Now that your hand is empty, you can't use Heraklinos's effect to stop this: Dragon's Mirror!"

All of a sudden, a giant looking glass with a frame resembling a dragon appeared before transparent versions of Twin-Headed Behemoth, Blackland Fire Dragon, and Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4, LV6, and LV8 flew out of the ground and disappeared into the mirror.

"What's happening?" Marina questioned.

"You see," Keith started to explain, "Dragon's Mirror allows me to banish the fusion materials for any Dragon-Type Fusion Monster, whether they're on my field or Graveyard. I then get to Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster. So I fuse five of the Dragons in my Graveyard in order to summon Five-Headed Dragon!"

A blinding light emanated from inside the mirror and out came a gargantuan dark yellow dragon with five heads, each of which represented the Fire, Water, Wind, Dark, and Earth Attributes (A: 5000/ D: 5000).

Marina's eyes widened. _Oh shit,_ she thought awed. She was staring down one of the most powerful monsters in the game. She turned her gaze to Keith and smiled. _It's a no wonder why you're the champion._

Everyone stared in awe at the magnificent dragon that roared.

"That is so awesome! I definitely have to duel Keith now," Jaden said excitedly.

Everyone else stared at Jaden for a moment and shook their heads.

"Only you, Judai, only you," Raiden said.

"Five-Headed Dragon, attack Gladiator Beast Heraklinos and end this duel!" Keith ordered and each of the dragon's heads simultaneously fired a blast of elemental energy from their mouths. The blast blended together when they hit Heraklinos, creating a massive smoke-filled explosion as he was wiped out along with the last of Marina's Life Points.

**Keith: 300 WINNER**

**Marina: 0**

"And the winner of this duel, U.S. Duel Champion Keith Rhodes who will go on to the Finals next Saturday to face off against the winner of the next semifinals match," Jackson declared.

Marina got to her feet as Keith, turning off his duel disk, walked across the platform to join her. "Good duel," she said. "I can see why you're the champion. You are good."

Keith smiled. "Thank you," he said, holding out a hand to Marina who smiled and took it before shaking it.

**. . .**

Kaede Yuki ran a hand through his hair as he gazed at his phone, his mind going over what his wife had just told him. His wife had told him when she called while he was at the Bishop Museum earlier in the week that she thought someone was stalking her. He had told her to go to the authorities immediately and tell them that but she said she didn't have any proof.

The call he had just received from a hospital in Florence was all the proof he needed.

His wife had been attacked and she didn't know for sure who had attacked her. She thought it was _him_ but she didn't know for sure.

_"He left a warning. He is coming for you. You need to be careful, dear. You and our children need to be careful."_

Kaede closed his eyes as he thought about those words. He had never met _him_ face to face before; he only heard that the bastard's brother had nearly killed his wife and then he had, somehow, ended up in a coma with a rather deep knife wound. Investigators said that the wound to the bastard and to the bastard's brother, as well as the others who had been killed along with the bastard's brother, were similar, as if they had been done with the same weapon. However, they could not prove that because, for some reason, there was no weapon at the scene of the crime. That didn't make sense at all, but then neither did the bastard actually waking up from the coma he had, somehow, been thrust into, as Izumi had discovered when she had visited the hospital for her yearly check-up.

The fact that the bastard had been tossed into a coma from some unknown cause—Kaede very much doubted the wound, itself, had caused the coma as help had arrived before he could bleed out—during this time wasn't as far-fetched to Kaede as it would be for others. That was primarily because Kaede and his wife had experienced such things before…with Jaden.

Back when Jaden was younger, every time he lost a duel or was prevented from playing his favorite card—Yubel—his opponent always ended up in a coma or injured, though it was usually the former. So Kaede had experience with this sort of thing, but he still had many questions and no answers to any of them. Though the situation with the bastard was similar to what had only stopped a few months before that event, Kaede refused to believe his son had anything to do with it.

And yet, accidents like what happened to the bastard did happen around Jaden before.

But that still didn't explain why the bastard was as injured as he was and it also didn't explain the deaths of the others who were with him. Kaede knew his son; his son was not a murderer and so could not have been responsible for that.

So who was?

Kaede didn't know. But then he didn't know a lot of things; his wife was convinced that the person who attacked her was _him_ and that warning that she said he gave her was the main reason why she was convinced. Kaede, on the other hand, didn't know if she was right or not; there was no proof, especially since there was no way of knowing whether the warning was real or not. While he was sure his wife would never lie to him, the idea that _he_ would warn them was pretty far-fetched, all things considered.

Kaede pulled himself from his thoughts as the door to his room opened and his sons and daughter made their way into the hotel room.

"Hey, Dad," Jaden said brightly as he plopped onto the bed across from the one Kaede was sitting on.

"Hello, Jaden. How was the duel?" Kaede asked. He would think about this matter more at another time. Right now, he decided to tell his sons and daughter about what happened to their mother. They had the right to know.

"It sure was sweet," Jaden said brightly. "Keith is such a strong duelist. I wanna duel him myself."

"Think you can take on a pro, Judai?" Raiden asked.

"Hell yeah," Jaden said with a grin.

Kaede smiled sadly at his children before he sighed and decided to just tell them now. "Jaden, Raiden, Kasumi, take a seat. There's something I have to tell you," he said.

Jaden frowned as he sat up. "What's the matter, Dad?" he asked.

"You look worried," Kasumi said, sitting down on the bed beside Jaden while Raiden sat on her other side.

Kaede sighed. "I just received a call from your mother. She's in the hospital," he said.

"What? Why?" Kasumi gasped, eyes widening.

"She was injured badly, but she is going to make a full recovery. She's staying in the hospital for a few more days, though," Kaede said.

"Who attacked her?" Jaden asked; his eyes were cold and hard and Kaede inwardly shivered. To see such a look on his youngest son's face was shocking and Kaede honestly didn't know to feel about it, other than unnerved. So he decided against pointing it out.

"No one knows," he said. It wasn't a lie. While his wife was sure of whom it was, there was no proof to prove that it was _him_.

"But she'll be all right?" Raiden asked.

"Yes, she will."

"Well, that's good. I hope they catch the bastard who did this, though."

"Language, Rai," Kasumi said.

Raiden rolled his eyes.

Jaden was silent, gazing off to the side as if communing with someone only he could see.

There was a knock on the door and Alexis poked her head into the room. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked.

Jaden pulled himself from his thoughts and smiled at his girlfriend, the coolness in his eyes fading. "Hey, Lex," he said.

"I just wanted to tell you that Aunt Em wants you to come down soon so that we can decide where to go to dinner today."

"We'll be right down," Kaede said.

Alexis nodded and left.

Kaede returned his attention to his sons and daughter. "I'll let you know if there's any change in your mother's condition," he said as he stood up. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry."

Jaden's stomach chose that moment to growl.

"Apparently, so is Judai," Raiden said.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "When isn't Jaden hungry?"

"True."

"Hey," Jaden protested with a pout, much to his siblings' and his father's amusement.

_Well, at least they're not letting their mother's condition dampen their spirits,_ Kaede thought.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was the first semifinals match! I hope that you enjoyed it, though credit must go to my beta-reader Misha, otherwise known as **_**EndlessNight025**_

**Misha: Ha! I am the Dragon and Gladiator Beast queen! Bow before me, commoners! Bow! Heh…Just kidding. That was a fun duel, though, wasn't it? Wasn't it?!**

**Chazz: someone's desperate for approval**

**Misha: Sh-shut up! (Goes to sulk in a dark corner since she knows Chazz is right)**

**Blaze: (smacks Chazz upside the head) don't be mean to my beta-reader. That **_**was**_** a badass duel and Misha, you definitely deserve credit for it!**

**Jaden: hell yeah it was. That Five-Headed Dragon was awesome!**

**Blaze: uh huh. An awesome monster, which, rather neatly, brings me to my question for today**

**Chazz: you actually have a question for this chapter?**

**Blaze: yup! I thought it up a while ago and just remembered it now when I was reading the edited version of this chapter. Bakura, if you would?**

**Bakura: fine (pulls out piece of paper) Blaze's question for today is 'What is your favorite Duel Monsters' card? If you have too many, name three that you really, **_**really**_** like.'**

**Misha: (returns from dark corner) my favorite Duel Monster cards would have to be Red-Eyes Black Dragon and all of his incarnations since they're all so darn cute and powerful!**

**Blaze: I have a lot of favorite cards but I'd have to say that three that I like are Cyber Dragon Nova, an XYZ monster that I actually own and is so cool looking, The Winged Dragon of Ra and Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon**

**Marik: nice**

**Jesse: yup. So time to end the chapter?**

**Blaze: yeah, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and this duel and the next chapter will be posted either next Sunday or Monday. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	3. The Semifinals: Machines and Gem-Knights

**I'm truly sorry everyone. I tried to get this out on one of the days I said I would get it out but it was rather late when I got it back from my beta-reader (not her fault at all, she was just making the duel in this chapter awesome) and I had school the next day. So, yeah, it's a day late but, ah well, that's life.**

**Thank you to **_**Guest, SuperNeos2, bobmanv2.0, Sundown17, Guest **_**[there were two guests reviewers], **_**DarkZorua100, Supreme Elemental Hero, EndlessNight025, Kamen Rider Sting, decode9, a1993, Sorcerer of the Stories, StrawHatLuffy94, Lightclaw's Shadow**_** and **_**iloveyugiohGX93**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys, as usual, are the greatest.**

**And, as usual, thank you to **_**EndlessNight025, **_**to whom I give credit for this duel once again (since she was the one that did it), for being an awesome beta-reader.**

**Also, the next two chapters will not feature a duel. There are three more chapters in part one and then we will get on to part two, where things take on a darker turn. The next chapter will, definitely, be posted next Sunday.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**3**

**The Semifinals: Machines and Gem-Knights**

Jaden shot up in his bed and gasped, a cold sweat covering his body and his eyes wild with fear. The fear started to die down as Jaden took a few shuddering breaths and closed his eyes as he attempted to get his breathing under control. The nightmare was as bad as they usually were, but Jaden found that his nightmares about what happened the two times his powers got out of control were more terrifying than the nightmares he occasionally got about his past life as Haou, events that Haou still hadn't explained to him yet.

Jaden got to his feet and walked over to the doors leading into the balcony, moving quietly to avoid waking up Raiden and his father. Kasumi was sharing a room with Alexis and Arina as they were the only girls, aside from Emily, who were on the trip. Chazz had his own room while Atticus, Kyle, and Keith were sharing a room and, naturally, Matt and Emily had their own room. Opening the doors, Jaden walked onto the balcony and gazed at the pool and the ocean that lay beyond, its undulating waves lit by the starlight above. A gentle warm breeze surged through the air, brushing a few stands of brown hair into Jaden's face.

'_Are_ _you okay, Judai?_' Yubel asked, materializing beside Jaden.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he said, folding his arms on the railing and resting his chin on them. "Just can't sleep."

'_The nightmares,_' Yubel said matter-of-factly. '_Which_ _one was it this time?_'

Jaden sighed. "The incident with that Shadow Duelist and Mom getting stabbed," he said softly. "I still can't believe I did that."

'_No, Judai, it wasn't you. You had no control; it was Haou that did that,_' Yubel said firmly.

Jaden was silent for a long moment before he turned to look at Yubel. "I guess so, but these are still my powers. I can't have Haou take control every time I almost lose control of them. I'll never learn to control them if that happens," he said.

'_I_ _know. You've learned much on how to control your powers, but your emotions are another story. When you were young, that was because you were too young to understand how to control them, especially when something bad happens, and now it is because you are a teenager and hormonal,_' Yubel said.

"Yubel!" Jaden protested, blushing while Yubel laughed.

'_I_ _am just saying. All teenagers are that way,_' she said. '_Still,_ _you are learning, and you've still got some time to master your powers. You and Haou are working rather well together since that duel against Kagemaru, after all, surprisingly._'

'_Surprisingly?_ _What is that supposed to mean?_' Haou demanded.

'_That you don't work well with others,_' Yubel deadpanned.

Haou growled in fury. '_I_ _worked well with you and my brother,_' he snapped.

'_True,_ _until that thing happened._'

'_Once_ _again, not my fault._'

_What are you talking about?_ Jaden thought.

'_Nothing,_' Haou snapped and fell silent.

'_You_ _aren't ready to know, not yet,_' Yubel said before she looked over her shoulder. '_You've got company._' She then vanished.

"Judai, are you okay?"

Jaden turned as his brother, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, walked over to join him. "Yeah, I'm fine, just another nightmare," he said.

Raiden yawned again. "What about?"

"Nothing important."

Raiden raised an eyebrow, giving him a look that said 'I don't believe you but I'll let it go' and asked, "So who do you think will win tomorrow's duel?"

Jaden shrugged, grateful for the change of subject. "I dunno. I've never seen either of them duel. I looked 'em up and they're both pretty good," he said, turning his gaze back to the ocean.

Raiden leaned against the railing. "It looks like it'll be a good match," he said.

"Yeah."

The two said nothing more and simply watched the undulating waves of the ocean.

**. . .**

The following morning, the gang decided to have breakfast in the cafeteria at the hotel. They were all gathered at one table, talking with each other about the upcoming duel and what they wanted to do while they waited for the duel to start. The day before, they had spent that time looking at a few more landmarks.

"I'd like to keep learning how to surf," Raiden said.

"So you don't keep wiping out?" Jaden asked.

Raiden glowered at him. "It's not as easy as it looks," he muttered.

"But it's funny to watch."

"Shut up."

Kasumi chuckled as she picked up her iced tea and took a long drink from it. "Personally, I really don't care. Maybe I'll just hang out at the beach again or the pool," she said. She cast a sidelong glance at Jaden and added, "Maybe you can take Alexis out on a real date, Jay."

Atticus nodded in agreement. "That'd be a good idea," he said brightly.

"You are not following them," Raiden said.

Atticus pouted. "I won't follow them, Rai. Why would you think that?" he asked.

"I know you," Raiden deadpanned.

Jaden, sipping at his drink, shrugged. "It's a good idea. What do ya say, Lex?" he asked, looking at his girlfriend.

She gave him a small smile. "I'd like that," she said.

"I know a good restaurant you two can try out. It's about a block away," Kaede suggested. "It's called Helena's Hawaiian Food if you wanna try Hawaiian food. It was really good when I went there when I was here last."

Jaden looked thoughtful. "Since we're about to eat anyway. Why don't we go to the zoo first and then to the restaurant for lunch? Oh, and we'll probably need some money," he said, looking at his father who raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to the money I already gave you?"

"Spent it on souvenirs," Kasumi said.

"And booster packs and autographed posters from the convention yesterday," Raiden added.

Kaede sighed. "I really should teach you how to better manage your money," he muttered. "Fine, I'll give you enough to take Alexis to the zoo and to the restaurant, as well as get back to the hotel before the second semifinals match begins." He pulled out his wallet and, while he was counting out the amount Jaden would need, the rest of the gang went to get their breakfast from the breakfast bar.

After they ate, the gang split up to find something to do until the second semifinals started. Kaede handed Jaden a map of Honolulu before pointing to where the zoo and the restaurant were located. "Don't get lost," he said.

"I'm not Raiden," Jaden said. He paused as he thought about how he wasn't the best at directions either and added, "Well, not as bad anyway."

"Bullshit," Raiden said.

"Well, you did get lost in Tokyo that one time," Jaden said, glowering at his brother.

"So did you."

Alexis chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't get lost, Mr. Yuki," she said, taking Jaden's hand and the map from him before she guided him out of the hotel.

Jaden followed, pouting. "Rai's the one who always gets lost and I only get lost every once and a while and Dad reminds me?" he muttered. "I don't get him at times."

Alexis laughed as she stopped on the sidewalk and called for a taxi in English. "Now I'm thankful I got all those English speaking lessons when I was younger," she said as the taxi pulled to a stop in front of them.

"Tell me about it," Jaden agreed as he and his girlfriend climbed into the back of the taxi.

"Where to?" the taxi driver asked.

"The Honolulu Zoo, please?" Alexis said, folding the map and tucking it into the pocket of her shorts.

The cab driver nodded and pulled away from the hotel.

While they drove down the street, Alexis and Jaden talked about everything from the tournament to what they liked best about Honolulu so far. It wasn't long before the cab pulled to a stop at the entrance to the zoo. Jaden and Alexis climbed out and Jaden paid the cab driver.

"Thanks," he said.

The cab driver nodded and drove away while Jaden and Alexis walked over to the entrance. Seated behind the ticket was a young man around their age with mullet-style hair and a bored expression on his face. He seemed to brighten up when he spotted Alexis, though, and he grinned.

"So, what can I do for you, pretty lady?" he asked and Alexis blushed.

"My boyfriend and I would like to get in," she said.

The boy, thankfully, backed down upon hearing that Alexis had a boyfriend. "Why are all the pretty ones always taken?" he muttered as he typed onto his computer before telling them how much they owed him.

Jaden paid him and they each got bands around their wrists so that they could visit all the exhibits before they entered the zoo.

"It's been a while since I've been to the zoo," Jaden commented as they walked along the walkway toward the pond that was across from the entrance. There were flamingos there as well as ducks swimming around in the pond.

"Yeah. Atticus and I last went when we were ten," Alexis said.

"So, where do you want to go?"

Alexis thought about it for a moment. "Let's go see the birds first," she suggested, pointing in the direction a sign was indicating was where the birds were located.

"Okay."

After seeing the birds and the Kipuka Nene Sanctuary, Jaden and Alexis saw the Komodo dragon and the Sumatran tiger before they took a break at the snack bar and Jaden bought himself and Alexis a slushie before they took a seat at one of the tables.

"So, what now?" Jaden asked.

"Since we're heading in that direction anyway, how about the African Savanna?" Alexis suggested.

"Fine with me."

**. . .**

Jaden and Alexis weren't the only ones at the zoo. Arina had suggested they go to the zoo as well, and Chazz, having nothing better to do and having not been to a zoo in years, agreed. After Chazz nearly punched the person in the ticket booth in the face for flirting with Arina—Arina had sighed and restrained him—they headed toward the duck pond and stopped as they decided where to go next.

Chazz was still fuming. "Y'know, when someone finds out the girl they're flirting with has a boyfriend, shouldn't they, I dunno, _stop_ flirting with said girl?" he muttered.

Arina patted his arm. "C'mon, Chazz, let's just enjoy ourselves and forget about him," she said with a bright smile.

Chazz grunted. "All right," he said and they walked off, heading toward the primate section, though Arina—who had brought a digital camera with her—paused before snapping a picture of the hippo sculpture they passed by. "That's cool," she said before she looked around and spotted someone walking nearby.

"Hey, can you take a picture of us, please?" she asked.

The woman smiled kindly. "Sure," she said, taking the camera and Arina grinned.

"Thanks," she said before grabbing Chazz's arm and the two walked over to the sculpture before the woman called to them to smile and then snapped the picture. She handed the camera back to Arina.

"There you go," she said.

"Thanks," Arina said as she took back the camera before she looked at the picture and nodded. "I like it." She showed it to Chazz, who took it and examined it; it was a good picture and he was smiling a little, it was more of a half-smile. Chazz knew that, recently, he had only ever smiled around Arina; there was just something about her that caused him to smile, most likely her cheerful personality.

"C'mon, Chazz," Arina said happily before she flipped forward and walked on her hands away from the sculpture, weaving around the people who just watched her move. Chazz jogged after her, rolling his eyes fondly at his 'show-off' girlfriend.

They reached the primates and Arina flipped to her feet before they walked over to the orangutans and she took a few pictures. They walked onward with Arina taking delight in showing off, as usual, and snapping pictures of everything she saw, including gorillas and regular monkeys and the like.

After the primates, Arina looked around as if attempting to find some other place to visit. "Wanna check out the reptile exhibit?" she asked.

Chazz shrugged. "I guess," he said.

"C'mon, aren't you having fun?"

To be honest, Chazz was just enjoying spending time with Arina, and he did like seeing animals that he hadn't seen since he was a little kid, but he was getting rather tired of walking around. "Yeah, but do ya think we could rest for a bit?" he asked.

"Sure."

They found a place to sit and watched as people walked by. Parents with small children, teenagers chatting with each other or talking on their phones or listening to music and volunteers and employees moving around, helping people or taking care of the animals. It was crowded, though it was still early.

After resting for about ten minutes, the two of them stood up and started heading toward the Reptile House.

**. . .**

"Why did you want me to go with you again?" Kyle asked as he followed his brother down the hallway of the hotel. They were on the top floor, heading toward one of the rooms in which one of the finalists of the first Battle City tournament was staying.

"I would've thought you wouldn't mind meeting him, Kyle," Keith said.

"I don't, but I still don't know why you asked me to go with you," Kyle said. "I mean, I'm not a pro or anything."

"No, but I have no doubt you will be one someday. You're good, Kyle, and you always have been."

"Not as good as you," Kyle murmured under his breath but nevertheless said nothing as Keith came to a stop at one of the doors and knocked on it.

The door opened.

"Hey, Keith, c'mon in," Joey Wheeler said brightly.

"Thanks, Joey. This is my brother, Kyle," Keith said as he made his way into the room.

"Nice to meet ya, kiddo," Joey said, holding out a hand.

"Uh, you, too," Kyle said shyly, taking Joey's hand and shaking it.

"So, how are ya enjoying the tournament semifinals so far? That first duel sure was awesome," Joey said as he led them toward the living room of the suite.

"Marina did a good job and Gladiator Beasts are a tough archetype," Kyle said. Being in the presence of a legend and talking casually with said legend was not something Kyle thought would happen when Keith first told him he had gotten him and his cousins and friends tickets to the semifinals and finals.

"Yeah, they are," Joey agreed.

"So what brings you, Yugi, Marik, and Bakura to Honolulu anyway?" Keith asked.

"Marik and Bakura are here, too?" Kyle said, surprised, before Joey could respond.

Joey nodded. "Yup, they're here, all right, though Ishizu and Odion couldn't come, but they wished you the best of luck, Keith." He paused, as if thinking, and added, "And I think Marik dragged Bakura to the bar. Yugi's talking with his fiancé though. And we're only here 'cause Yugi asked us to come," he said.

"Are Kaiba and Mai here, too?" Kyle asked

Joey shook his head. "Not Mai, she's in California right now, but Kaiba's here. He kinda has to be 'cause he did pay for most of this tournament and he's gonna be in the World Championship next year, so he wants to check out the competition, though he's talking about taking Yugi's title from him again." He rolled his eyes at that and Keith chuckled.

"Well, I plan on winning this tournament and I'm gonna try and get further in the World Championships than last time," he said.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that, but it was a good duel," Joey said. He had been the one that knocked Keith out of the World Championship Tournament that occurred the year after Keith won the U.S. title the first time, or so Kyle was told.

"Yes, it was."

**. . .**

Kasumi lounged by the pool, gazing up at the cloudless sky above her head. All around her, children were splashing and playing in the water while their parents watched on and teenagers were swimming nearby or talking with each other. A few were relaxing and tanning on lounge chairs. Kasumi hadn't been the only one to decide to stay at the hotel today, though; nearby, Matt and Emily were talking with each other and Raiden and Atticus were swimming in the pool, splashing each other just for the heck of it, though they did splash her on occasion.

"Will you stop that?" Kasumi protested, glaring at Raiden, who had just splashed her for the third time.

"You're not gonna melt, y'know," Raiden said, floating on his back.

A few girls noticed and whispered to each other before giggling.

Atticus laughed. "Looks like ya got some admirers, Rai," he said.

Raiden splashed him.

Kasumi rolled her eyes and closed her eyes, only to be splashed yet again. "Okay, that's it," she muttered, removing her sunglasses and her towel before diving into the pool and swimming over to Raiden, splashing him in the face as she did so.

Raiden, who had been chuckling, sputtered and spat out the water in his mouth. "Hey," he protested.

Kasumi laughed. "Payback," she said with a smirk.

Raiden grumbled under his breath.

Atticus swam over the edge of the pool and folded his arms on the edge. "Hello, ladies," he said with a bright smile.

One of the girls giggled. "Hello," she said. "Do you know that cute brunet that's with you?" She pointed to Raiden.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Atticus said with a grin. "He's single, y'know."

"Atticus!" Raiden shouted, overhearing since Atticus wasn't bothering on keeping his voice down. "Stop trying to set me up with someone."

"You could use a girlfriend, Rai," Atticus called back.

"Look who's talking!" Raiden rolled his eyes and muttered, "Besides, I don't really like the idea of a long distance relationship. I would rather get together with someone that I can see regularly."

The girls giggled again while Kasumi rolled her eyes and swam back to the edge of the pool and climbed out of it, freezing when she heard a wolf whistle from nearby.

"Wow, you're cute," one of the guys that were in the pool nearby said.

Kasumi rolled her eyes, wrapping the towel around her waist as she returned to her chair.

One of the guys swam to the edge of the pool. "Hey, baby," he greeted her. "Did it hurt?"

Kasumi raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?"

"When you fell from heaven?"

Kasumi narrowed her eyes. "Did you just call me Satan?" she asked.

The guy blinked, obviously surprised by that response.

Raiden swam forward. "This guy bothering ya, Little Mist?" he asked.

"And who are you?" the guy asked.

Raiden glared at him. "Her brother," he said before looking back at Kasumi.

"I'm fine, Rai. I'm used to all the cheesy pick-up lines guys use on me," she said. "They get repetitive after a while."

Raiden nodded.

"Hey, Rai, Stephanie here says she's willing to give ya her phone number," Atticus shouted.

"Will you stop trying to set me up with someone?" Raiden shouted back.

"Hey, I'm the Master of Love, it's my job."

"Master of Annoying People is more like it."

Kasumi laughed.

**. . .**

Jaden and Alexis were a bit surprised to run into Chazz and Arina at the African Savanna exhibit.

Arina waved and walked over to join them, with Chazz just behind her. "Hi, guys," she greeted them.

"Hey, Arina, Chazz," Jaden greeted them. "I guess great minds think alike, eh?"

Chazz grunted but didn't respond.

"Don't mind him. He's just sore that one of the parrots we saw decided to mimic him," Arina said with a shrug, recalling that incident from when they visited the bird exhibit after the Reptile House.

Jaden chuckled and ignored the glare Chazz tossed at him. "Well, we're about to go see the zebras. You wanna come with?"

"Sure," Arina said brightly.

Chazz shrugged. "Whatever," he said and followed the others as they led the way toward where the zebras were.

**. . .**

Several hours later, it was time for the final duel of the semifinals. Jaden and Alexis, after their date, which had turned into a double date with Chazz and Arina, had returned to the hotel to find Raiden hiding in the hotel room he shared with his brother and father. When asked what happened, Raiden just said, "Atticus" and left it at that. Alexis had gone off to see what Atticus did this time while Jaden had grilled Raiden until he admitted that Atticus was trying to set him up with practically all the single girls staying at the hotel. Jaden had laughed and was hit in the face with a pillow for doing so.

The gang met in the lobby and then left to get to the stadium hour early so that they could avoid the crowds. On the way there, Kyle told them about meeting Joey and learning Marik and Bakura were there.

"So Bakura is here?" Jaden asked.

Kyle nodded. "Yeah. He and Marik were really wasted when they got back to the room. Let's just say that what happened was so funny that Joey would not stop laughing upon hearing about it," he said.

Kasumi chuckled and shook her head. "You're lucky you got to meet Joey, though," she said.

"Lucky," Jaden muttered. "Am I the only one who didn't get to meet a legend?"

"You met Yugi," Raiden pointed out.

"Oh yeah."

About fifteen minutes later, they were back in the stadium, waiting for the next match to begin.

"So, what do we know about these two competitors?" Jaden asked.

"Well, Slade and Jagger took Celina under their wing, apparently," Kyle said.

Jaden frowned. "Those assholes? Wonderful," he said sarcastically.

Chazz grunted. "And here I thought I wouldn't have to deal with those lousy scrubs again," he muttered quietly, thinking back to Slade's words at the convention.

_Heat of the moment response._

Chazz still wondered if Slade was speaking the truth.

Arina placed a hand on his arm. "Don't think about 'em, Chazz," she said, kissing him gently on the cheek. "Let's just enjoy this duel."

Chazz nodded, blushing a little at the kiss.

About an hour later, the stadium was filled once again with excited fans. On the jumbotron, clips from Celina's last duel and the last duel of her opponent Nathan Callahan were projected side by side.

Jackson made his way onto the field, raising his hand in greetings to the cheering fans. "Man, all of you sure are excited, aren't you?" he said into the microphone he was holding and the cheers grew louder. "Well then, why don't we get to the final match of the semifinals? The winner of this match will advance to the finals to challenge the current reigning U.S. Duel Champion, Keith Rhodes, for the title. Now, let's introduce our competitors."

**. . .**

Celina watched the clips that were being played about her last duel and barely heard Slade and Jagger as they gave her a pep talk about the upcoming duel, reminding her that she had to win and that a lot was riding on her winning. She still didn't understand why they were so determined to have her win, as they refused to tell her.

"Why won't you tell me why everything is riding on me winning?" she asked once they finished talking.

"You don't need to know," Slade said. "Just go out there and win."

"First off, once again, I'd like to introduce our commentators for the evening; Elizabeth Harley and Bryan Stone," Jackson called and the crowd cheered.

"I'll do my best," Celina said.

"I've told you this already, Celina. You need to do more than just your best," Slade said firmly.

Celina sighed, irritated. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," she said.

"And now, our first competitor; he is the user of the Gem-Knights who has risen through the ranks quickly for one as young as he. Please give a warm welcome to Nathan Callahan," Jackson called.

Cheers erupted as Nathan Callahan, a slim boy about a year younger than Celina with short-cropped auburn hair, walked onto the stage as a hologram of Gem-Knight Master Diamond, an armored warrior wielding a broadsword with gems of all colors of the rainbow embedded into it, appeared floating just above him.

"Go and win," Jagger said firmly as Celina checked her duel disk to make sure it was strapped on properly.

"I know," she said.

"And next, his opponent; she is the user of the newly released Ally of Justice archetype and a representative of the Princeton Group, please give a warm welcome to Celina White," Jackson called and, again, cheers erupted as Ally of Justice Thunder Armor, a red four-legged machine monster with blue sabers as its hands and canisters on its back, floated above Celina as she made her way onto the platform.

"Now then, duelists, cut each other's decks and let's get this show on the road," Jackson called.

Celina joined Nathan at the center of the field. "Good luck," she said, handing her deck to Nathan.

Nathan snorted. "I don't need luck to beat you," he sneered, handing his deck to Celina who frowned at his tone but shook it off and took the deck. She shuffled it before handing it back and the two returned to their respective sides of the field.

"Two archetypes that have only recently been released, going head to head with each other," Elizabeth commented.

"Well, the previous duels are evidence that these two know exactly how to use their decks, Elizabeth," Bryan said. "So this is bound to be an intense match."

"I agree."

"Are you ready to lose, White?" Nathan said as he activated his duel disk.

"I'm not gonna lose," Celina said, her duel disk whirring to life.

"Let's duel," they shouted as they both drew their opening hands.

**Celina: 8000**

**Nathan: 8000**

"Ladies first," Celina said, drawing her sixth card before she looked at it and then placed it on her duel disk. "And I start by summoning Ally of Justice Garadholg in Attack Mode."

An android-like monster covered in orange white metal appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 400)

"I'll set two cards and end with that," she finished as she inserted two cards into her duel disk.

"That's it?" Nathan scoffed as he drew his card. "I summon Gem-Knight Garnet in Attack Mode."

As soon as he placed the card on his disk, a red-armored monster with a flaming right fist appeared (A: 1900/D: 0).

"I activate my face-down card, the Continuous Trap known as DNA Transplant," Celina suddenly declared, her set card springing upwards. "Thanks to this, I can declare one monster Attribute and then this card will change the Attribute of every face-up monster on the field to the one I picked. I think I'll go with Light."

Both monsters on the field were briefly surrounded in a golden radiance as their Attributes changed.

"Big deal," Nathan snorted. "That won't stop my monster from attacking, after all. Garnet, attack Garadholg with Flaming Iron Fist!"

"Garadholg effect activates: when this card battles a Light-Attribute monster, it gains 200 Attack during the Damage Step only."

Seconds after Celina's explanation, the garnet knight shot forward, Garadholg's Attack increasing to 1800 before its enemy's blazing fist slammed into it, causing it to explode on contact.

**Celina: 7900**

**Nathan: 8000**

"Ooo, first blood goes to Nathan," Elizabeth said.

"I place this facedown and end my turn," Nathan said with a smirk as he inserted a card into his duel disk.

"My move," Celina said, drawing a card before she inserted it into her duel disk. "I activate Star Blast. Now I can reduce the Level of one monster in my hand by one for every 500 Life Points I give up. So I'll give up just 500 to reduce the Level of my Ally of Justice Omni-Weapon by one, making him a Level four monster."

**Celina: 7400**

**Nathan: 8000**

"And now I summon Omni-Weapon in Attack Mode," she added, placing the card on her duel disk.

A silver machine with a globe filled with what looked like constellations as its head appeared on the field (A: 2200/D: 800).

"Omni-Weapon, attack Gem-Knight Garnet," Celina ordered.

"What is she doing? Did she not take into account Nathan's face-down?" Slade hissed to Jagger.

Jagger shook his head. "I hope this mistake won't cost her the duel," he said curtly.

"You should have paid attention, White," Nathan said with a snort. "I reveal my Negate Attack facedown, stopping your attack and ending the Battle Phase."

Omni-Weapon's attack died down and Celina scowled before glancing at her hand_. Damn, I forgot about that face-down, but how was I to know it was a Trap that could stop my attack?_ she thought.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn," she ended.

"My draw," Nathan said, drawing a card and then grinning upon seeing what it was. "Nice. I now play my Gem-Knight Fusion to fuse Gem-Knight Obsidian in my hand with Gem-Knight Garnet on my field in order to summon Gem-Knight Ruby in Attack Mode."

Garnet merged with another monster to create a monster in red and gold armor with a red scythe in his hands and a dark-blue cape around his neck (A: 2500/D: 1300).

"Looks like Celina's monster's outmatched," Bryan said.

"I'm not finished yet," the Gem-Knight duelist went on. "Since Obsidian was sent from my hand to the Graveyard, I can now target one Level four or lower Normal Monster from my Graveyard and Special Summon. Since it's the only one I have right now, I'll go with Gem-Knight Garnet."

In a flash of light, Garnet returned to the field in Attack Position (A: 1900/D: 0).

"Next, I'll Normal Summon Gem-Knight Sardonyx in Attack Mode."

A red and brown warrior wielding a spiked ball on a red chain soon took its place by the other two knights on the field (A: 1800/D: 900).

"Gem-Knight Ruby, attack Omni-Weapon, Ruby Slash," Nathan ordered and his newly created Fusion Monster shot forward, cape billowing out behind him before his scythe cut through Omni-Weapon, shattering it and conjuring up a cloud of dust that Celina shielded her face from with her arm and duel disk.

**Celina: 7100**

**Nathan: 8000**

"Next, I'll use Garnet to attack you directly!"

"Not so fast! I activate my other face-down, the Quick-Play Spell, Fires of Doomsday," Celina quickly interjected. "With this card's effect, I can now Special Summon two Doomsday Tokens to my field in Defense Position."

Out of two wisps of dark flames emerged these two one-eyed creatures made of black smoke (A: 0/D: 0 x2).

The appearance of the two new Token monsters caused a replay to occur, so Nathan had Garnet attack and destroy one of the Doomsday Tokens instead. After that, he had Sardonyx attack, which quickly got rid of Celina's second Token.

"How did you manage to make it this far in the tournament? You're so weak," Nathan taunted, signaling the end of his turn.

"Don't call me weak," Celina growled, practically yanking her card out of her deck before she took a deep breath to calm down. She had only lost nine-hundred Life Points, but she did have a temper and she hated it when people doubted her dueling abilities; she had learned everything she knew on her own and from the tutors the Princetons hired and she was determined to take to heart what she learned and be the best.

"I activate my Allure of Darkness Spell Card to draw two more cards," she said before she did so and added, "And then I have to banish one Dark-Attribute monster from my hand, like my Ally of Justice Unlimiter." She pocketed the card before adding, "Next, I activate my Trap Card, Escape from the Dark Dimension. This card lets me select one of my banished Dark-Attribute monsters and then Special Summon it to the field. I choose Ally of Justice Unlimiter."

A machine that looked vaguely like a bug with large blue eyes and a glowing spike jutting out of its nose appeared out of a void of darkness (A: 600/D: 200).

"What do you call that? It's pathetic," Nathan sneered.

"You won't think that way for very long," Celina growled under her breath before throwing down another card onto her duel disk. "I summon Ally of Justice Thousand Arms in Attack Mode."

A dark blue automaton with a spiked helmet for a head then materialized onto the field, its multiple arms wielding a variety of very sharp and dangerous-looking weapons (A: 1700/D: 0).

"Is your turn gonna end sometime this century?" Nathan asked, bored.

Celina rolled her eyes. "And people say I'm impatient," she muttered. "I activate the effect of Ally of Justice Unlimiter. By Tributing this card, I can double the original Attack of one face-up Ally of Justice monster that I control until the End Phase and I choose my Thousand Arms."

Unlimiter vanished, but not before blasting Thousand Arms so that it was surrounded by a blue aura (A: 1700-3400).

Nathan's eyes went wide with surprise.

"Ooo, this is gonna hurt," Bryan said.

"Especially when you factor in Thousand Arms' ability," Elizabeth added.

"That's right," Celina nodded in agreement. "Thanks to the effect of Thousand Arms, it can attack all face-up Light-Attribute monsters my opponent controls once each, and because of DNA Transplant, all of your monsters are Light right now. Guess what that means?"

Not giving Nathan a chance to answer that question, Celina switched over to her Battle Phase and had Ally of Justice Thousand Arms attack his three Gem-Knights. They were all no match Thousand Arms' arsenal of deadly blades and each soon ended up as nothing more than a bunch of gold pixels, their destruction taking out half of Nathan's Life Points just like that.

**Celina: 7100**

**Nathan: 4000**

"Oh very nice job by Celina," Elizabeth exclaimed. "She just knocked out half of Nathan's Life Points in one turn."

"Man that was a sweet move!" Jaden exclaimed from the stands.

"I know, right?" Raiden and Kasumi agreed.

"Not bad," Chazz said with a nod.

"Way to go, Celina," Kyle said with a smile as he gazed at the white-haired girl.

Alexis glanced at him. "Why are you blushing?"

Kyle, realizing he was, in fact, blushing, blushed harder. "Um, no reason," he said quickly and looked away.

Alexis chuckled.

"Impressive," Jagger said from near the arena.

"Yes, but the duel's not over yet," Slade agreed, watching the match intently.

"And I end my turn with that, which means Thousand Arms' attack returns to normal," the white-haired girl said as Thousand Arms powered down (A: 3400-1700).

"My draw," Nathan said, drawing a card. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards."

He did so, and then, placing another card on his disk, added, "I summon Gem-Knight Alexandrite in Attack Mode."

A silver armored warrior with alexandrite gems around his body and on his chest appeared (A: 1800/D: 1200).

"And thanks to his effect, I can Tribute him to Special Summon a Normal Gem-Knight from my deck, so say hello to Gem-Knight Crystal!"

In a shimmering light, Alexandrite vanished and was soon replaced by a bigger knight with large blue crystals embedded in his shining platinum armor (A: 2450/D: 1950).

"Now go, Gem-Knight Crystal. Destroy Thousand Arms," Nathan ordered.

Using one of the jagged crystals on his arm like a sword, the Gem-Knight ran forward and sliced Celina's monster in half.

**Celina: 6350**

**Nathan: 4000**

"I set one card and end my turn."

Celina drew a card. "I play my own Pot of Greed, which means…well, you know the rest." She picked up two more cards from her deck before holding up another card. "I summon Black Salvo in Defense Mode."

A black round bomb with a demonic grinning face rolled onto the field (A: 100/D: 1100).

"And when Black Salvo is Normal Summoned, I can select 1 Level 4 Dark-Attribute Machine-Type monster from my Graveyard and Special Summon it to the field in face-up Defense Position, though all its effects will be negated. I'll go with Ally of Justice Garadholg."

The orange robot reappeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 400).

"Then I activate my Double Summon Spell to Normal Summon yet again this turn," Celina added. "I now sacrifice my Black Salvo and my Ally of Justice Garadholg in order to summon Ally of Justice Thunder Armor in Attack Mode."

Both of her machines vanished to be replaced by the red machine that had appeared when Celina was first introduced, its saber arms pointed offensively at Nathan and his monster (A: 2700/D: 2200).

"Thunder Armor, attack Gem-Knight Crystal," she ordered.

Thunder Armor's blue saber sliced through Gem-Knight Crystal, causing the monster to cry out in pain and shatter and Nathan to stagger back from the force of the attack.

**Celina: 6350**

**Nathan: 3750**

"With that, I end my turn."

**. . .**

"This duel is getting really good," Jaden said excitedly in the stands.

Raiden nodded in agreement.

"These Gem-Knight monsters are awesome. I'd love to be able to go against 'em," Kasumi said. "But Celina's good and those Ally of Justice monsters are cool, too."

"Yeah, they are," Jaden agreed.

**. . .**

"My draw," Nathan said, drawing a card. "I summon Gem-Knight Sapphire in Defense Mode."

A knight covered in light blue armor emerged in a gush of shimmering water (A: 0/D: 2100).

"Next, I'll activate my Trap, Gem-Enhancement. This card lets me Tribute one Gem-Knight on my field in order to Special Summon a Gem-Knight monster in my Graveyard, so I'll trade in Sapphire for Gem-Knight Obsidian."

As Sapphire vanished in a bright light, a large black rock-like monster with a belt made of obsidian orbs encircling its body from its shoulders to its hips soon took his place (A: 1500/D: 1200).

"I'll then activate the Quick-Play Spell, Inferno Reckless Summon from my hand," he added. "Because I just Special Summoned a monster with 1500 or less Attack Points while you control a monster, I can now Special Summon all cards with the same name as the Summoned monster from my hand, deck, and Graveyard in face-up Attack Position. Of course, you get to do the same thing with a monster on your field, but given your Thunder Armor's effect, I guess that's not gonna happen."

Celina frowned in annoyance at that. It was true, though. Because Thunder Armor's effect made it so it couldn't be Special Summoned, Celina wouldn't be able to use Inferno Reckless Summon on it even if she wanted to.

Meanwhile, two more Gem-Knight Obsidians appeared on the field (A: 1500/D: 1200).

"And next, I activate my Particle Fusion Spell to fuse my three Gem-Knights in order to summon Gem-Knight Master Diamond!" Nathan declared as his three monsters fused together to create the large diamond-covered warrior wielding the rainbow gem encrusted broadsword (A: 2900/D: 2500).

Celina whistled. "That's a powerful monster," she said.

"And he's gonna get more powerful," Nathan said smugly. "He gains 100 Attack for every Gem- monster in my Graveyard, and there currently happen to be nine."

Master Diamond was surrounded by a white aura (A: 2900-3800).

"And that's not all. Now, the second effect of Particle Fusion activates. By banishing this card from my Graveyard, I can target one of the Gem-Knights I used to summon Master Diamond and my monster gains that monster's Attack until the End Phase and I choose one of my Gem-Knight Obsidians."

He pocketed the Spell he had just used as his monster's attack increased once again (A: 3800-5300).

"Oh, that's not good," Celina murmured.

"Now, Master Diamond, attack Thunder Armor with Diamond Strike," Nathan ordered and his monster drew his sword before charging forward, the broadsword sinking into the center of Thunder Armor and slicing it into two pieces.

**Celina: 3750**

**Nathan: 3750**

"Very nice," said Bryan. "Nathan's managed to close the Life Point gap between him and Celina, and now they're currently tied."

Celina lowered her duel disk. "A good move," she complimented him.

"Whatever," Nathan snorted as he signaled the end of his turn (Master Diamond A: 5300-3800).

"She'd better get back into this," Slade growled.

Jagger nodded in agreement.

"My draw," Celina said, drawing a card. "And I play Spellbook Inside the Pot so that we each draw three cards."

"I know what the card does, idiot," Nathan sneered.

"Well, maybe someone in the audience didn't," the white-haired girl retorted as she and Nathan each drew three new cards.

"Next, I summon Ally of Justice Core Destroyer in Attack Mode," she added and a four-legged gold and silver robot with only a mechanical red eye for a face appeared on the field (A: 1200/D 200).

Nathan scoffed. "It's weaker than my monster," he said.

"Yeah, but thanks to Core Destroyer's effect, that doesn't matter," Celina smirked. "See, when it does battle with a Light-Attribute monster, that monster is instantly destroyed at the start of the Damage Step, without applying any damage calculation, and unfortunately for you, my DNA Transplant is making all monsters on the field Light."

Nathan swore as Celina ordered her monster to attack. Core Destroyer then shot a blue laser beam from its tail which soon hit Master Diamond, rendering him nothing but a pile of diamond dust.

"And then I place these two cards facedown and end my turn," Celina concluded, inserting two cards into her duel disk.

"It's my turn, then," Nathan said as he drew a card, giving him four. "I'll start by activating the Spell, Dark Factory of Mass Production. This allows me to take two Normal Monsters in my Graveyard and add them to my hand."

With that, Nathan retrieved Gem-Knight Garnet and Gem-Knight Sapphire from his Grave and added them to the other three cards in his hand.

"Next, I activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion in my Graveyard," he went on. "By removing a Gem-Knight monster from my Graveyard, I can add this card back to my hand." After pocketing one of Gem-Knight Obsidians, Gem-Knight Fusion reappeared in his hand, glowing brightly. "I'll then activate it to fuse the Gem-Knight Garnet, Sapphire, and Iolite in my hand in order to summon Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond in Attack Mode!"

The three aforementioned monsters briefly appeared before jumping into the colorful swirling fusion vortex. In their place emerged a female knight clad in diamond-studded armor, a flowing red cape on her back and a long sword in her hands (A: 3400/D: 2000).

"Not bad," said Raiden.

"It's powerful but I'm sure Celina will find a way to defeat it," Kyle said.

"It's a sweet monster though," Jaden said.

"But wait, there's more," Nathan exclaimed, apparently still not done yet. "I play the Spell, Silent Doom and use it to Special Summon Gem-Knight Iolite from my Graveyard in Defense Mode."

A blue-armored knight wielding a blade made of blue cordierite appeared before kneeling down (A: 1300/D: 2000).

"And since I still have my Normal Summon, I'll use it to Gemini Summon Iolite as an Effect Monster."

_Gee, and he accused me of taking a time with my turns, _Celina rolled her eyes as she watched Iolite give off a bright glow as his true power was unleased.

"I'll now use Iolite's effect: by banishing Gem-Knight Sapphire from my Graveyard, I can add Gem-Knight Obsidian back to my hand." The Gem-Knight duelist did exactly that before adding, "And now I'll activate Lady Brilliant Diamond's effect: once per turn, I can send one Gem-Knight monster I control to the Graveyard in order to Special Summon a Gem-Knight Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions. I'll give up Iolite to summon Gem-Knight Prismaura!"

Lady Brilliant Diamond lifted up her sword and slashed open a portal that Iolite was soon sucked in to. In his place, a warrior in shining silver and gold armor then appeared, a lance and shield clenched tightly in his gauntleted fists (A: 2450/D: 1400).

"Well, I'll admit those are two really strong monsters you have there," Celina admitted. "Though all the Attack Points in the world still won't get them past my Core Destroyer since its effect will just destroy them both if they attack it."

Nathan just snorted. "Yeah, I haven't forgotten about that," he huffed. "Why else do you think I decided to bring out Prismaura?"

"Huh?"

The Gem-Knight duelist grinned at his opponent's confusion. "He has a special effect of his own, you see. Once a turn, by sending one Gem-Knight monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can target one face-up card on the field and destroy it."

Celina's eyes went wide at that revelation, making Nathan's smirk grow wider. The white-haired girl gritted her teeth together at Nathan's smug expression and had to take a few breaths to avoid storming across the field and smacking the idiot across the face with her duel disk.

"I send Gem-Knight Obsidian from my hand to the Graveyard to have Prismaura destroy your Ally of Justice Core Destroyer!"

After Nathan discard said card, Prismaura flung his shield at Core Destroyer like a discus. It ended up slicing the Machine monster in half, causing it to blow up before the metal disc flew back around safely returning to the knight.

"Gem-Knight Obsidian effect now activates," Nathan declared then. "Since it was sent from my hand to the Graveyard, I can once again Special Summon a Level four or lower Normal Monster from my Grave, so welcome back Gem-Knight Garnet."

The crimson-colored knight retook the field for the third this duel (A: 1900/D: 0).

"Now I'll activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion in my Graveyard once again," Nathan kept right on going, making Celina wonder if he was ever going to shut up. "I banish Gem-Knight Iolite from my Graveyard to bring my Spell back to my hand."

"Is he going to Fusion Summon again?" Elizabeth wondered.

"Looks like it," Bryan commented.

"I activate Gem-Knight Fusion to fuse Gem-Knight Garnet with the Gem-Knight Emerald in my hand to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Citrine in Attack Mode!"

The two Gem-Knights fused together, creating a paladin wearing bronze armor and a blue cape, his fists and claymore covered in molten lava (A: 2200/D: 1950).

"And now, Citrine, attack Celina directly," Nathan ordered. "Oh, and when he attacks, you can't t activate cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step."

Citrine ran at Celina before slashing at her with his blazing-hot sword, making the Machine duelist have to block it with her duel disk so she wouldn't get scorched.

**Celina: 1550**

**Nathan: 3750**

"Next I'll use Lady Brilliant Diamond to attack you directly!"

"You triggered my trap, Dimension Wall, which throws your monster's attack back at you," Celina said, pressing a button on her duel disk and Nathan swore as the his monster's sword crashed into a wall that had appeared in front of Celina and was redirected back at him, sending him skidding backwards several feet.

**Celina: 1550**

**Nathan: 350**

Nathan ground his teeth together. "Yeah, well, so what?" he spat. "Prismaura can still attack you directly. Go!"

The third Gem-Knight Fusion Monster charged forward and pierced Celina with his lance, making her wince. However, during the damage calculation, before any Battle Damage could be applied, she quickly interjected with, "I activate my Trap, Defense Draw! This card makes the Battle Damage I would have received become zero, and then lets me draw a card from my deck!"

"Talk about saving herself in the nick of time!" Elizabeth breathed as Celina went ahead and drew a card with her Trap's effect.

"That certainly was a close call," Bryan agreed. "Some quick thinking might have saved Celina this time, but how will she fair with those three powerful Gem-Knights still staring her down?"

"Looks like we'll have to wait and see."

"Not bad," Jaden said. "She managed to avoid both of those attacks that would have lost her this duel. She really is good. I wanna duel her now."

"Of course you do," Raiden said dryly.

Nathan glowered at his opponent after that last play, muttering something along the lines of "lucky brat" under his breath. "Since I'm out of things to do, I'll end my turn."

"Finally!" Kasumi exclaimed from the stands.

"Well, it's about time," Celina said, rolling her eyes.

"She's doing okay, but she better turn this around before too long," Slade murmured to his brother.

Jagger nodded before raising an eyebrow as Celina grinned after she drew a card from her deck. "Something tells me she's going to turn this duel around this turn," he said.

Celina held out the card she just drew. "This duel is over! First, I summon my second Ally of Justice Unlimiter to the field in Defense Mode," she said and another bug-like machine appeared on the field (A: 600/D: 200).

"Next, since you control two or more monster, and because at least one of them is Light-Attribute, I can Special Summon Ally of Justice Cosmic Gateway from my hand!"

A large intergalactic portal with a blue swirling energy in the center then materialized on the field (A: 2400/D: 1200).

"And then I activate Unlimiter's effect, Tributing it to double Cosmic Gateway's attack until the end of my turn." Unlimiter blasted Cosmic Gateway before vanishing as Cosmic Gateway was surrounded by a blue aura (A: 2400-4800).

"Now, Cosmic Gateway, attack Gem-Knight Citrine," Celina ordered and Cosmic Gateway unleashed a blast of gold energy from its portal that enveloped Citrine and destroyed him, shrouding Nathan's side of the field in a thick cloud of smoke and knocking him off his feet.

**Celina: 1550 WINNER**

**Nathan: 0**

"And we have our winner!" Jackson shouted. "Celina White will go on to the finals next Saturday to face Keith Rhodes for the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship!"

Celina waved at the crowd as they cheered for her before she walked over to Nathan and held out a hand to him. "Good duel," she said.

"Whatever. I would have won if I had my Gem-Knight Amethyst in my deck," Nathan said snidely. He ignored the offered hand and got to his feet before walking away.

_Someone's a sore loser,_ Celina thought as she also walked off the platform.

Slade and Jagger joined her.

"I can't believe I made it this far," Celina said, looking at the still cheering audience as Jackson told them what time the finals would begin.

"Yes, and now you will need to work twice as hard to come up with a way to defeat Keith," Slade said.

"Yeah, I know." _Sheesh, wish I knew why they keep harping on me to win this tournament._

"Let's go," Jagger said. After a duel in the tournament, most of the time, the competitors would remain for a little while to sign autographs for their fans and the semifinals were no different.

Celina followed Slade and Jagger toward the exit, noticing that there were quite a few people already gathered in the lobby. She wasn't surprised, though.

"Celina!" a shout sounded and Celina turned as a boy around seven years old rushed through the crowd, practically dragging his mother behind him. He was carrying a poster in his hand and, when he came to stand in front of Celina, he held it out along with a Sharpie.

"Will you sign it for me, please?" he asked shyly.

Celina smiled. "Sure," she said, taking the poster and the Sharpie before she signed it with her loopy cursive before handing it back.

The boy beamed. "Thank you!" he said excitedly, taking the poster and Sharpie back.

"Excuse my son, he's a big fan," his mother said apologetically.

"Oh, it's no problem," Celina said dismissively. "I don't mind at all."

"I do. We don't have time for this, Celina," Jagger said firmly.

"Geez. I'm just giving an autograph. Chill out," Celina said, rolling her eyes as the mother gently guided her son away from her and the Princetons.

"Celina," another voice called out and Celina turned as Keith made his way through the crowd, stopping every now and then to sign an autograph or take a picture with a fan.

"Hello, Keith," Celina greeted him.

"Good duel out there," Keith said. "I look forward to our match next weekend." He held out a hand.

"I look forward to it, too. Be prepared to lose your title," Celina said, taking the U.S. Duel Champion's hand and shaking it.

Keith smiled a little. "Confident, are ya?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

Celina nodded.

"Well then, I wish you the best of luck. I'll see you at the banquet Wednesday," Keith said before he released Celina's hand.

"You too, and see you then," Celina said before watching the U.S. Duel Champion walk away.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was chapter 3 of **_**Chained**_

**Darth: I liked it**

**Jaden: sweet duel!**

**Jesse: I know, right?**

**Syrus: (sighs and shakes his head) and they wonder why people think they're twins**

**Chazz: true that, so what happens next?**

**Blaze: a hiking trip, some more with Jaden's parents, the beach, the Banquet Keith mentioned, some more of Celina's backstory and…I think that's it**

**Jaden: cool**

**Blaze: so, like I said at the beginning of the chapter, the next two chapters don't have duels in them and then it will be the finals and then on to part two where shit hits the fan, so to speak**

**Bakura: yeah, yeah, do you have a question for today?**

**Blaze: unfortunately, I do not, therefore, I am going to go work on my essay that I have due on Thursday (walks off)**

**Jaden: she didn't finish the chapter again!**

**Jesse: guess we've gotta do that**

**Bakura: that's your problem (walks off to go rob Kaiba's Mansion)**

**Kaiba: **_**stay away from my mansion!**_

**Jesse: well, I guess we'll finish it. Blaze hopes that you enjoyed this chapter and the duel, which she gives full credit to her beta-reader Misha (EndlessNight025)**

**Jaden: and the next chapter will be posted next Sunday. So review please as they are always appreciated.**


	4. The Banquet

**Sweet. Twelve people reviewed the last chapter. Nice!**

**Thank you to **_**DarkZorua100, Guest, Guest, bobmanv2.0, decode9, Lightclaw's Shadow, a1993, Kamen Rider Sting, Sorcerer of the Stories, alex 988, EndlessNight025**_** and **_**iloveyugiohGX93**_ **for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**I hope that you enjoy this little interlude between the duels. There is one more non-dueling chapter that will be posted next Sunday or Monday and then we will go to the finals and then we'll go into the darker half of **_**Chained.**_

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are always appreciated.**

**4**

**The Banquet**

Dawn after the final duel of the semifinals came and Jaden was the only one who was asleep. Everyone else had been awakened as they had decided the day before they would be going to the Diamond Head State Monument and decided to leave early.

Raiden smirked as he walked into the room, holding a bucket filled with cold water before he tossed the water on Jaden, causing his younger brother to yelp and sit up sharply, glaring at him.

"Wake up, sleepyhead," Raiden said brightly.

Jaden yawned. "Did you have to nearly drown me, Rai?" he asked.

"Maybe." Raiden ducked the wet pillow Jaden tossed at him. "C'mon, Dad's taking us to Diamond Head State Monument and we decided it'd be best to leave early before it gets too hot."

Jaden yawned again before turning onto his side to look at the clock and blinking. "It's 6:30 in the morning," he groaned.

Raiden shrugged. "Yeah, so?" He knew his brother knew that they were going to leave early.

Jaden glared at him. "How come you aren't tired? You're not that big of a morning person, Rai."

"I've wanted to visit Diamond Head ever since Dad told us about it when we were younger."

"When did this happen?"

Raiden rolled his eyes. "C'mon, get up," he said. "Dad's already up."

Jaden yawned again. "Fine. I'm getting up," he mumbled.

Raiden nodded and walked away, disappearing into the bathroom as Yubel materialized at the foot of Jaden's bed.

'_Are_ _you okay, Judai?_' Yubel asked.

"I'm okay, Yubel. Just a long night," Jaden said. His sleep had, again, been filled with nightmares; they had lessened somewhat after Jaden told Raiden everything but, ever since he arrived in Honolulu, they were starting to occur every night like they used to before. Jaden didn't know why.

"I just don't know why they started occurring constantly again, Yubel. I mean, they stopped happening every night after I told Raiden, but…" Jaden shrugged, covering his mouth as he yawned again.

Yubel looked confused. '_Telling_ _Raiden certainly did help with them but I don't know why they are occurring every night again,_' she said. '_Maybe_ _something triggered them._'

"But what?" Jaden asked, frustrated. "What could have triggered them again?"

'_I don't know._'

**. . .**

The hike to the Diamond Head was rather steep. There were a lot stairs and many uneven portions of the path, but it wasn't that hard. However, Jaden couldn't remember the last time he had hiked anywhere and so he started getting winded by the time they reached the first tunnel.

"Can we take a break?" Jaden asked breathlessly.

'_We_ _really need to work on your endurance,_' Yubel mused.

Kaede glanced at his son before looking at Matt and Emily who had decided to go along with them. Alexis, Atticus, Kyle, Keith, Chazz and Arina had also come just to see the crater, though why, Jaden didn't know. They also appeared to be a little winded, except for Arina who was sipping at her water bottle sporadically and didn't look the less bit winded.

"Why don't we take a few minutes to rest?" Kaede suggested.

Matt nodded and the two moved away from the path to avoid blocking the others on the path.

"I'm not used to this," Raiden admitted.

"Well, we don't go hiking often," Kasumi said, taking a drink of her water.

"Have you ever gone hiking before, Chazz?" Arina asked.

Chazz shook his head, breathless. "Not that I can remember, anyway," he said.

"When was the last time we've gone hiking, anyway?" Jaden asked curiously as he sipped at his water.

Raiden shrugged. "I don't remember. I think it was the same year Dad adopted Kasumi," he said.

"Yeah, I remember that," Kasumi said thoughtfully. "I specifically remembered a certain someone tripping and falling into a river." She looked at Jaden, who muttered under his breath.

Raiden snickered. "I remember that," he said.

Jaden glowered. "I also remember a certain someone dropping their tent on the campfire," he said.

"That wouldn't have happened if I wasn't startled!"

"It was a squirrel!"

While those two bickered about the last hiking/camping trip they had been on, Alexis sweat-dropped before looking at Arina. "What about you, Arina? Have you ever gone hiking?" she asked.

"A few times, whenever my family and I had time, that is," Arina replied.

"Oh, cool."

About five minutes later, Jaden and Raiden had stopped bickering, more because they had forgotten what they were bickering about, anyway, much to Kasumi's amusement, and the gang started up the trail again. They headed into the tunnel and Jaden gently took Alexis's hand in his as they walked.

When they came out of the tunnel, though, they spotted several steep steps and Jaden groaned.

"More stairs?" he complained.

"There's more stairs at the top, too," Kaede said.

"Wonderful."

Kasumi chuckled. "You should work on your endurance, Jay," she said.

"That'd require _working,_" Raiden teased.

Jaden smacked his brother in the shoulder for that.

They started up the stairs, having to stop several times for Jaden and the others to rest. It wasn't that it was difficult but the stairs were steep, tiring everyone out quicker, unless they were used to it. By the time they reached the tunnel at the top, they had to stop again to catch their breaths and take drinks from their water bottles.

They walked through the stone tunnel that was lit at regular intervals. As the tunnel was very narrow, the group had to walk single file with Kaede leading and Atticus bringing up the rear of the group, though that could be because there were a few pretty hikers behind him that he started chatting with. Raiden, who was walking in front of him, just shook his head in amusement and then in annoyance when Atticus happily began telling the hikers that both he and Raiden were single.

"Atticus!" Raiden growled, glaring at Atticus, who smirked.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"I'm still wondering how your brother and my brother became friends," Alexis commented.

"Raiden's usually good at becoming friends with anyone," Jaden said with a dismissive shrug.

"Ah. The same can be said about you, huh?"

Jaden shrugged again. "Now, anyway," he said softly and quickened his pace to catch up with Kasumi, who was several feet ahead of him.

Alexis followed, frowning at those words, but then she remembered that Jaden had admitted to being bullied when he was younger and wondered if that was why he wasn't good at making friends back then. She considered asking him, but decided against it. It was obvious Jaden's past wasn't something he liked talking about. He told them about Haou, but he only did so because, as he said, he didn't want them to jump to their own conclusions.

The trip to the tunnel wasn't that long and, before long, they exited to reveal a spiral staircase in front of them.

The trip up the staircase was slow-going but, eventually, they managed to make it to the Observation Bunker, which allowed for a beautiful panoramic view of the seemingly endless Pacific Ocean; on top of the bunker gave the gang a breathtaking view of the island as well as Waikiki down below.

"Well, this is a beautiful view," Alexis said.

Jaden nodded in agreement as he took a long drink from his water bottle.

Arina was snapping a few pictures of the crater. "This is a nice view," she said.

Chazz shrugged as he took a drink of water.

"You've been pretty quiet, Chazz," Arina commented, looking at Chazz who was sitting on the bunker.

Chazz shrugged. "Nothing to talk about," he said.

Arina sat down beside him but said nothing.

"Okay, we'll rest here before we head back down," Kaede said also taking a seat. "So what do you want to do next?"

"Go back to the hotel and sleep the rest of the day," Jaden muttered. "I'm beginning to see why Chumley hates hiking."

Alexis chuckled. "You didn't complain this much when we went to those ruins back at Academy Island," she said.

"There weren't any stairs there."

Kyle wandered away from the group to look at the island from all sides. It was a nice view, he admitted, and he did enjoy the walk. He had done some hikes when he was younger with his family, but not many, but he did enjoy them, especially since it got him outside.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Kyle jumped and turned to find a certain white-haired girl standing a few feet away from him, looking amused at his reaction. "Celina, what are you doing here?" Kyle asked.

Celina shrugged. "I needed some time to myself. Slade and Jagger are really starting to annoy me with their constant 'you've gotta win your upcoming duel' lectures," she said. "Thankfully, they said that I could do what I wanted today, so here I am. Nice view, huh?"

Kyle smiled a little. "Yeah, it is," he said timidly as he looked toward the view. "I've never been here."

"Neither have I," Celina admitted. "So are you a duelist like your brother?"

Kyle nodded, glancing at the whitenette. "Yeah, I'm going to Duel Academy," he said.

"You are? Cool. What kinda deck do you use?"

"Umm, it's a Burn deck," Kyle said.

"Ah. That sounds cool. My first deck was a Dragon deck before I got the Ally of Justice cards," Celina said. "I liked 'em. Light and Darkness Dragon is my favorite, though I've always liked Machines, too."

Kyle smiled. "I like my Horus cards," he admitted.

"You have Horus cards, too?"

"Yeah, Keith gave me his copies."

"Ah." Celina was silent for a moment, then: "So, are you going to the banquet on Wednesday?"

"Banquet? What banquet?"

"It's one that Pegasus decided to include. It'll be a charity banquet and all semifinalists are required to attend. They can bring their families, though. Kaiba, Yugi, Marik, Bakura, and Joey are going to be there as well," she explained.

"Oh. I dunno if we're gonna go or not. I'd like to, though."

Celina smiled at him. "Well, if you do, I'll see you there, then," she said.

Kyle smiled a little. "Yeah, okay," he said.

"I'm gonna head back down now. I'm gonna visit the Iolani Palace and the tour I'm on starts in two hours. See you later, Kyle," Celina said before she walked away.

"Yeah, see ya," Kyle murmured as he watched her go, a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Hey, little bro, what's up?" Keith said brightly as he appeared at Kyle's side before he followed his gaze and smirked. "Ran into Celina again, huh?"

Kyle's blushed at the memory.

Keith chuckled. "I think my little bro has a crush," he said.

Kyle shook his head to clear it before glancing at his brother. "So what's this about a banquet on Wednesday?" he said.

"It's just to raise money for various charities. I've already told Mom and Dad and they said that you, Lexi, and Atticus can come if you want. They're already donating money to the charities, anyway, so they'll be attending it," Keith said. "I think they're going to tell the others about it either later today or tomorrow."

"I think I'll go," Kyle said.

"You just wanna see that pretty whitenette again, eh?"

Kyle blushed again and his older brother laughed.

**. . .**

Kasumi plopped onto her bed. "Everything aches," she groaned.

Alexis chuckled as she sat down. "Yeah, I'm tired, too. That was a tiring hike," she said.

"It was fun, though, and that was an amazing view," Arina said, plopping down in an armchair before placing her camera on the nightstand. "Wonder what we're gonna do later?"

"I wanna just lie here and do nothing," Kasumi said.

Arina chuckled. "Well, I think I'm gonna go check on Chazz," she said, getting to her feet before she walked out of the room.

"How is she not tired?" Kasumi wondered.

"She's been in a traveling circus for most of her life. She probably built up a lot of endurance doing all of those performances," Alexis said.

"Probably. I'm gonna take a nap now."

Alexis raised an eyebrow at Kasumi, who was lying with half her body hanging off the bed. "Like that?"

"Well, I am kinda comfortable."

"Okay then."

**. . .**

"_Hey, dear. How was the hike to Diamond Head?_" Izumi asked. Her voice was soft as if she had just woken up. Considering it was late at night, Kaede figured he accidentally woke her up.

"Did I wake you up?" he asked.

"_Nah, I've been awake. Can't get to sleep,_" Izumi replied. "_So how was it?_"

"I enjoyed the hike and got some good pictures that I'll show you when we get back," Kaede said, leaning against the railing as he gazed down at the pool where his children and the others had gathered after resting for a few hours.

"_I look forward to seeing them._"

"So, are there any leads on who attacked you?"

Izumi was silent for a moment. "_They haven't been able to find any evidence and they don't believe me when I tell them who it was,_" she said.

Kaede didn't respond.

"_Dear, you believe me, right? You believe that it was_ him_, right?_"

Kaede sighed. "I don't want to say that I don't believe you, sweetheart, but it's pretty far-fetched. If it really is him, why would he warn you?" he said.

Izumi sighed. "_I don't know, but I'm sure it is him. I mean, the attack was so…precise, as if he had been targeting me and I don't know of anyone else who would have a personal vendetta against me,_" she said.

"How do we even know it was a man? And if it was him, how did he know you were in Florence?"

Izumi sighed again. "_I guess you're right, but I'm still worried. He did warn me,_" she said.

"I know. That is why I'm keeping an eye on the kids, but I don't think you have to worry about it. Now, why don't you try and get some sleep? We can talk more tomorrow."

"_Yeah, I think I could use some sleep. I had a busy day today, trying to reschedule some things that I needed to take care of the days I was in the hospital. At least everyone's been kind enough to let me reschedule. I'll talk to you later, Kaede. I love you. Tell Raiden, Jaden, and Kasumi that I love them, too._"

"I will." Kaede closed his phone before putting it into his pocket before he turned and left the room, deciding to join the others at the pool. He had nothing better to do after all and, besides, he was on vacation.

**. . .**

Jaden relaxed on the beach towel, watching his brother who was attempting to learn how to surf. Kyle had decided to try to help Atticus teach Raiden as he had told them that he liked surfing, but hadn't been able to get a surfboard until then. The gang was currently at the beach; it was Tuesday, the day before the charity banquet that Matt and Emily had told the gang about during dinner the night before. Kaede said that he was going to be making a donation anyway so that Jaden, Raiden and Kasumi could go if they wanted and, since the Battle City finalists—most of them, anyway—were going to be there and Alexis, Atticus and Kyle were also going, the three of them decided that they would go.

"Is Chazz going to the banquet?' Jaden asked, turning his gaze away from his brother's most recent wipeout to his girlfriend.

Alexis shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't even know if Arina's going," she said.

"I'm considering it," Arina said, sitting down on a beach towel on Alexis's other side. "Chazz doesn't want to since Celina has to be there and since Celina's there, his brothers are likely gonna be there."

"Damn, I was hoping I wouldn't have to see those assholes on this trip," Jaden muttered.

Alexis took his hand and squeezed. "Don't worry about it, Jaden. I'm sure you won't even see them," she said.

"I hope not." He turned his gaze back to the ocean, just in time to see Raiden wipeout again and he snickered.

Meanwhile, in the ocean, Raiden swam toward the beach, glowering at Atticus and Kyle, who made surfing look easy.

"It just takes practice, Rai, lots of practice," Atticus said brightly.

"And balance," Kyle said. "Believe me, I wiped out quite a bit when I was learning how to surf when I was younger. Keith did, too, and he still wipes out every now and then."

"So, wanna try again?" Atticus asked.

Raiden thought about it and then shrugged. "All right," he said.

Kasumi was relaxing on a beach towel a few yards away from her brother and his girlfriend, sunglasses over her eyes and sunscreen covering her body. She was considering just taking a nap but decided that she would probably get sunburned if she did that. So she just studied the clouds above, pointing out in her mind what they looked like; a dog, a cat, a bowl of noodles.

Shire appeared, floating above Kasumi's shoulder. '_Hi Kasumi,_' she said brightly.

Kasumi turned her gaze to Shire. "Hey, Shire, where've you been?" she asked.

'_Bothering_ _Yubel, but I got bored,_' Shire said.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you didn't just come here because Yubel threatened to rip your wings off again?" she asked. Shire had a habit of annoying Yubel to the point that she actually had threatened to do that to the fairy before.

Shire looked affronted. '_You_ _make it sound like I didn't learn my lesson the last three times she did that,_' she said.

"Well, she did threaten that three times," Kasumi pointed out.

'_But_ _she never did it, y'know,_' Shire pointed out.

"That's only 'cause Jaden wouldn't let her."

'_I like Jaden. How does he put up with Yubel?_'

"No idea."

Shire looked up before frowning. '_Some_ _guy is coming over,_' she warned.

Kasumi sighed, wondering if she was about to be hit on by another guy. It would be the fifth time that has happened since they arrived in Honolulu. "I hope not," she muttered.

'_Hope_ _not what?_'

"That this guy doesn't try flirting with me. It's annoying," Kasumi said with a shake of her head as she sat up.

"Hey there, cutie," the boy said, sitting down beside Kasumi.

Kasumi took off her sunglasses with a sigh. "You're sitting a bit too close to me, y'know?" she said warningly.

"You're so cute," the boy said, oblivious to her warning tone. "Hey, are ya single?"

"What's it to you?"

"How 'bout a date?"

"You don't know me."

"So? That's what the date will be about."

Kasumi rolled his eyes. "Sorry, but no," she said.

The boy looked surprised. "How can you say no to me?"

"Like this, no," Kasumi said, irritated, getting to her feet and picking up her beach towel.

The boy also stood up. "Ah, c'mon, we'd make a cute couple."

"I don't even know your name."

"It's Rick."

"And I don't care." Kasumi walked away, wrapping the beach towel around her as she walked.

"Hey, you can't walk away from me like that," Rick snapped, walking after her and grabbing her arm.

"Don't touch me," Kasumi snapped, jerking her arm out of the boy's grasp. "I don't care who you are. I've already told you that I won't go on a date with you. Now leave me alone." She started to walk off, only to be stopped once again by Rick grasping her arm tightly.

"No, I want to know why you don't want to go on a date with me," he said firmly.

Kasumi, irritated, turned, yanked her arm free from Rick's grasp and then stalked off, muttering curses under her breath, to rejoin her brother and her friends.

Jaden raised an eyebrow at the stormy look on Kasumi's face and the way she was clenching her hands so tightly, he was surprised her powers didn't act up and they didn't burst into flames. "Wow, you look about ready to spit fire. What happened?" he asked.

"Damn idiot boys," Kasumi growled.

"What happened?" Alexis asked.

"That idiot was persistent," Kasumi said after she explained to Alexis what had happened. "He could've backed off after I told him 'no' the first time, but _noooo_!"

"Why're you so mad, Little Mist?" Raiden asked. He had given up learning how to surf for now and was walking over to join the four of them on the beach.

"A boy asked her on a date, she said no, he wouldn't stop bothering her and grabbed her arm when she tried to leave and she got mad," Jaden explained.

Raiden shook his head. "Some guys can be idiots," he admitted.

"By the way, has anyone seen Chazz?" Arina said, looking around. "He went to get some snacks a while ago and I haven't seen him since."

"Maybe he got lost," Jaden suggested.

"The snack bar's right over there, Jay," Kasumi said, pointing. "I'm positive even Raiden can't get lost going to the snack bar." She paused then added, "On second thought, yeah, he probably could."

"Hey!" Raiden protested. "So could Judai." He was rewarded with a smack and a glower from Jaden.

"Maybe he just went to the bathroom," Kyle suggested as he joined them and overheard what Kasumi said.

"Maybe," Arina said.

Near the snack bar, Chazz had just left the bathroom when he spotted the familiar white-haired semifinalist that his brothers had taken under their wing. He wondered why she was there. She was talking on her phone nearby as she walked but stopped when she spotted him. She said something into the phone and then walked over to join Chazz.

"Hey, you're Slade and Jagger's little brother, aren't you?" she said.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Chazz grunted.

"Well, there's no need to be rude," Celina said with a frown.

Chazz scoffed. "What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked.

"Just hanging out. Is that a crime?"

"No." Chazz walked over to the snack bar to order some snacks for himself and his girlfriend.

Celina followed him. "You don't seem to like your brothers very much," she said.

"Gee, what was your first clue?"

"There's no need to be so mean. I was just asking. Your brothers won't talk about you much. Slade just said you were estranged," she said.

"You're nosy," Chazz grunted as he paid for the snacks and then grabbed them off the counter. "I don't want to talk about it." Without another word, he walked away from the whitenette and over to join his girlfriend.

**. . .**

The banquet that night wasn't a formal affair but it was recommended that the people attending dress nicely. As a result, almost everyone dressed casually but nicely. Most of them were ready to go within an hour of the start of the banquet. Keith had already left while the others were just waiting for Emily to finish getting ready.

"Your mother says hi," Kaede said, turning to Jaden, Raiden and Kasumi.

"How's she doing?" Jaden asked.

"Still a bit paranoid, but she's fine."

"What happened?" Alexis asked.

"Someone attacked Mom while she was in Florence," Jaden explained. "She's all right, but no one can find out who attacked her or why."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm glad she's all right, though," Alexis said.

"Yeah, me, too."

Emily walked into the lobby of the hotel. "All right, everyone ready to go?" she asked.

"We've just been waiting for you, dear," Matt said, walking over to his wife.

The gang and the adults with them left the hotel before heading toward the hall in which the banquet was being held. They had learned that the banquet also included a dance and a speech from Pegasus as well as, possibly, some duels, though that was unlikely. Jaden and Raiden both looked eager at that, much to Alexis's and Kasumi's amusement.

"We don't know if that'll happen, though," Arina pointed out.

"I hope so. That'd be so sweet!" Jaden said.

"Hell yeah, it would," Raiden agreed.

Once they reached the banquet hall, they walked inside. The hall was already filled with people all dressed nicely, some were a bit more formal than others, and talking with each other. There was a table piled with food resting against the wall across from the door while a stage had been erected to the right of where the gang stood. It was currently empty. There were also tables placed in one half of the hall farthest from the stage while the other half between those tables and the stage was empty, likely the dance floor.

"Hey, guys," Keith greeted them as he walked over to join them.

"Hey, Keith," Kyle said, scanning the area.

Keith grinned. "Looking for a certain white-haired girl?" he asked.

Kyle blushed. "No," he said a bit too quickly.

Keith chuckled, clapping a hand on Kyle's shoulder before pointing toward one of the tables where said white-haired girl was seated. "She's over there if ya wanna go talk to her," he said.

Kyle's blush deepened, but he did walk over to the table. "Hey," he said nervously.

Celina looked up and smiled. "Hi, Kyle. Glad ya could make it," she said.

Kyle shyly smiled back. "Can I…sit here?"

"Of course."

The brunette sat down beside the white-haired girl. "So…" he trailed off, unsure of what to talk about.

"What's it like at Duel Academy?" Celina asked.

"Well, I rather like it. The teachers are okay, though Professor Stein is boring," Kyle admitted quietly. "I started part way through the year, though, but I've had fun since then." He decided not to mention the incident with the Shadow Riders or the Sacred Beasts.

"Cool."

"Yeah."

The two fell into silence again, then: "I wish I could go to Duel Academy. It sounds cool," Celina said wistfully.

"Why can't you?"

She shrugged. "Slade and Jagger don't think I need it," she said. "Besides, I'm not sure if I could get in."

"I've seen you duel. I'm sure you'd get in easily," Kyle said.

Celina picked up her glass of water but didn't drink from it; instead, she just stared at it. "I'm not worried about the entrance exam," she said.

Kyle frowned. "Then what?"

Celina looked down.

Kyle realized he was being rather invasive and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm being nosy," he said.

"It's okay," Celina said. "I just…don't like talking about it. Okay?"

"I get it." He thought about what to say to change the subject and asked, "So, do you have a favorite duelist?"

Celina looked at him. "Actually, I do. I like Bakura," she said. "His deck is creepy, but it's still cool and he's gotten pretty good since Battle City. What about you?"

"Honestly, I can't decide. Yugi is definitely among my favorites, of course."

"Yeah, who doesn't like the King of Games?"

"Kaiba."

Celina laughed and Kyle joined in, though his laugh was much quieter.

"Celina," Slade said, walking forward and sitting down across from her, not acknowledging Kyle's presence.

Celina, her laughter dying down into snickers, glanced at him. "Yeah?"

"We're not staying here long," Slade said. "How are you coming on your strategy to beat Keith?"

"It's coming along, but he's gonna be a difficult opponent."

"Hopefully not too difficult for you," Slade said coolly. "Just remember what we've done for you, and don't lose. Also, we've gotten you some new cards to add to your deck to assure that you do win."

Celina frowned. "I'm fine with my deck as it is," she said.

"Don't make the same mistake as my foolish little brother, Celina, and just take them," Slade said.

Kyle glowered. "Chazz is many things, but foolish is not one of them," he snapped. He saw Chazz as somewhat of a friend and he didn't think Chazz was foolish to want to try to win the School Duel with his own deck and under his own rules.

Slade glared at him. "Was I talking to you?" he retorted. "Who are you, anyway?"

"This is Kyle, Keith's brother," Celina said.

"Ah, you don't look like much. Bu then, your brother isn't that great of a duelist, anyway," Slade said with a shrug.

Kyle bit his lip before saying, "He's been U.S. Champion for two years now, y'know."

"Yes, because he's never faced any strong duelists," Slade said. "He won't last long against Celina, because she was trained by the best."

"I wasn't trained by Yugi, Slade, I was trained by the tutors you hired," Celina pointed out.

Slade glared. "Just remember what Jagger and I have done for you before you decide to risk losing your duel by not accepting our help," he said.

_Yeah, I can definitely see why Jaden enjoys calling him an asshole,_ Kyle thought.

"Hmph, it's my deck. You should know by now that I won't change my deck unless I want to," Celina said.

Slade didn't answer. He just stood up and walked away.

**. . .**

About an hour later, the rest of the semifinalists and their guests had arrived as well as all the others who were attending the banquet. Pegasus had given a brief speech and then everyone had started getting their food. Kasumi shook her head as Jaden happily dug into his food, practically inhaling it. Raiden, however, was eating at a much slower pace.

"This food is awesome," Jaden said, a while later as he came back to the table with this third plate.

Kasumi chuckled as music started to play. "Looks like the dance is gonna start now," she said as couples slowly made their way onto the dance floor, those that were done eating, anyway.

Atticus got to his feet. "Hey, let's go find someone to dance with. Maybe you'll find someone to date while you're at it," he said, grabbing Raiden's arm and practically dragging the older Yuki out of his chair and toward the dance floor. It was a good thing Raiden was done eating.

Jaden chuckled, swallowing a bite of food while Alexis sweatdropped.

Atticus and Raiden ended up getting two sisters to dance with them. Keith was dancing with Marina while Kyle had shyly asked Celina if she wanted to dance and she had agreed. Jaden, once he finished eating, stood up and turned to Alexis. "Do you wanna dance?" he asked, holding out a hand.

Alexis smiled and took his hand. "Sure," she said and Jaden guided her onto the dance floor.

A slow-song had come on and Jaden gently placed his hands on Alexis's waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck and they started dancing to the music.

"You're a good dancer," Alexis said.

Jaden smiled a faint blush on his cheeks. "Thanks," he said.

The two danced through a few more songs and then made their way back to their table to get something to drink.

At the other side of the dance floor, Kyle spun Celina, causing the white-haired girl to giggle as she was spun back into Kyle's arms. "Wow, you're a good dancer," she said with a smile.

Kyle blushed. "Um, well, I guess," he said uncertainly.

Celina chuckled and turned around in Kyle's arms and wrapping her arms around his neck as they continued to dance.

Back at the table, the gang were watching the couples dance, listening to the music and talking with each other. Arina glanced at Chazz who was sipping at a glass of water. "Hey, do you wanna dance?" she asked.

Chazz swallowed a drink, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Erm, no thanks," he said.

"Do you even know how to dance?" Kasumi asked curiously.

Chazz glowered but said nothing.

Kyle walked over to the table with Celina walking beside him, each of them carrying a glass of water. "Hey, guys," he greeted them as he and Celina sat down.

"Hey, Kyle, hey, Celina," Keith said brightly. "What brings you here, Celina?"

Celina shrugged. "What? Can't I say hi to my opponent come Saturday?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Keith chuckled. "I see you and my little bro are getting along," he said.

"Well, he is really nice," Celina said, sipping at her water.

A good fifteen minutes went by with the gang, and Celina, just talking. Celina had asked the gang what they thought about Duel Academy and they told her a few stories of what went on there, leaving out the business with the Shadow Riders and the Sacred Beasts just as Kyle did. Raiden and Atticus rejoined them, both exhausted from having been dancing nonstop since the slow-songs started.

"Hey, what're we talking about?" Atticus asked, sitting down.

"Just things that happened at Duel Academy," Jaden said with a shrug. "Celina asked 'cause she's never been to a duel school before."

"Like I told Kyle, I'd like to go but the Princetons don't think I need to go," Celina said.

"Well, if ya want to go, I don't see why you should let whatever those assholes say stop ya," Jaden said with a shrug.

Celina frowned. "You really don't like them, do you?" she said.

"What was your first clue?"

"You know, all things considered, I don't like 'em, either," Kasumi said with a shrug. "What happened at the School Duel was downright mean."

Celina's frown deepened. "What happened at the School Duel?" she asked.

"None of your business," Chazz said bluntly before anyone could respond, his thoughts suddenly on Slade's words from the convention.

_If it was a heat of the moment response, why hasn't he talked with me at all? Or even tried to talk to me?_ he thought.

Arina placed a hand on Chazz's arm. "Why don't we go get some dessert? They just brought it out," she said.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Chazz said, getting to his feet and following Arina toward the buffet.

Celina watched them go and glanced at the rest of the group. "Is he always like this?" she asked.

"He's better than he was when we first met," Jaden said with a shrug. Then, he scowled and added, "Oh, wonderful."

Celina and the rest turned around to see Slade and Jagger walking toward them.

Jaden stood up. "Lex, why don't we go get some dessert?" he said, holding out a hand to his girlfriend.

"Sure," Alexis said, taking Jaden's hand and the two of them walked toward the buffet.

"Celina," Slade said as he came to a stop behind them.

"Yeah?" Celina asked.

"We're leaving, now."

"But I haven't even had a chance to get dessert."

"We've got some things we need to do and you still need to prepare for your upcoming duel."

"That's days away. I have time."

Jagger folded his arms across his chest and then spotted Keith. "Why're you hanging around your competition?" he asked.

"It's a free country," Celina said. "Who're you to dictate who I can and cannot hang around with? You're not my parents."

"Look, if it's a ride she needs, we can take her back to her hotel after we leave here," Keith offered. "We just need to know which hotel you're staying at."

"That won't be necessary," Jagger said.

"I'd like to stay a little longer, though, or at least get some dessert," Celina said.

"We'll stay for another fifteen minutes," Slade said finally before he and Jagger walked away.

"Geez, they act like they're your parents," Atticus commented.

"They aren't, but they did take me under their wing. They even offered to adopt me only a few months ago."

Chazz, who had walked back to the table with Arina in time to hear those last words, flinched as he sat down.

The others looked sympathetic as they realized if the Princetons were offering to adopt her, something must have happened to her parents.

"I declined, though," Celina said. "It's complicated."

The gang decided against asking what she meant.

Fifteen minutes later, the Princetons came back and Celina stood up. "I'll see you guys later, hopefully," she said with a smile at Kyle, who smiled timidly back at her.

She walked after the Princetons, thinking. She really did like spending time with Kyle; he was quiet and shy but she could still talk with him. It wasn't that she was shy; it was basically that she rarely ever talked with anyone her own age because of the Princetons' obsession with her winning the tournament had her constantly working on completing that goal and the fact that whenever she had time to herself, most of the people her age that she tried to talk to were either perverts, star-struck fans, or were too busy to talk to her.

Celina found it easy to talk with him because he was very kind, too. She also seemed to get along all right with Kyle's friends, though she didn't get to spend as much time with them as she had with Kyle.

Thinking about him brought a faint blush to her cheeks as she thought about them dancing. It was the first time she had ever danced with someone who actually kept his hands where they belonged or didn't step on her toes. She didn't go to many places where dancing was involved, though, and she only knew the basics on how to dance, mostly because her foster mother, Ms. Thomas, was nice enough to teach her.

_"For when you go to high school and get asked to the dances."_

Celina smiled as she thought of her foster mother. She was really nice, and sympathetic toward Celina since she was the only one her age in the foster home. She also understood why Celina was hesitant about accepting any offers of adoption; she knew the truth about Celina's parents, and made it clear that she did not like them.

_"The people who just abandon their children, without even checking to see if their child is being taken care of at the place where they were abandoned, are among the people I hate the most."_

It was nice to know someone cared. Celina liked to think the Princetons cared, too. Why else would they ask to adopt her? But there were times when she questioned whether they really cared about her, or just about her skills in dueling. That thought only came to her whenever she thought about how obsessive they seemed over her winning the tournament, even though she was already qualified to be in the World Championships because she would be runner-up if she lost. She would still have her chance to become the World Champion, and yet the Princetons were still harping on her to win the U.S. tournament.

She also had to wonder what would happen to her when the Princetons left. They didn't live in the America, after all; they had only visited Celina until the tournament started and, because they had the money, they were able to come to Ms. Thomas's home once a week for her tutor sessions. She didn't know if those would continue after the tournament was over, though.

Sighing, she slipped into the limo that was out front and rested her back against the leather seat, closing her eyes. _I wonder if Ms. Thomas will be watching next Saturday._ She said she would when we last spoke, she thought.

**. . .**

"Well, that was fun, I guess, though I wish there had been some duels," Jaden commented as soon as the Yukis entered their room; Kasumi staying long enough to say goodnight to their father before leaving to enter the room the girls were sharing.

"That would've been cool, but I guess they just didn't have time or weren't prepared or whatever," Raiden said with a shrug, flopping face-first on his bed.

"I guess," Jaden said, sitting on his bed. "The food was awesome, though."

Raiden chuckled. "Obviously. You ate half of it, Judai," he said, lifting his head and was rewarded with a pillow to the face.

"I did not eat half of the food," Jaden protested.

Raiden tossed the pillow back at his brother, smirking when it hit him in the face. "You practically did," he said and ducked the pillow Jaden chugged at him. "Missed!" The second pillow hit him in the face again.

Jaden smirked.

Raiden chugged the pillow at his brother, who caught it and tossed it back. The two were tossing pillows back and forth for about five minutes before Kaede, who had been on the balcony talking on the phone, walked in and was promptly hit with a pillow.

"He did it!" Jaden and Raiden shouted, pointing at each other.

Yubel and Rogue both laughed as they materialized beside their respective partners.

Kaede shook his head with amusement in his eyes and tossed the pillow back on the bed. "You two should probably think about getting some rest," he said.

"It's only nine-thirty," Jaden protested.

"Yeah, it's way too early," Raiden said.

Kaede chuckled.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, that was chapter 4 and we got to learn more about Celina's character**

**Darth: cool**

**Blaze: well, I hope you liked it, some fiancéshipping moments as well as Kyle/Celina moments, which I've decided to call Natureshipping, and yes, those two will get together eventually**

**Bakura: whatever. What happens next?**

**Blaze: visiting various landmarks and places around Honolulu, Atticus and Raiden get lost and some other things**

**Jaden: cool**

**Jesse: yup**

**Blaze: so, I started watching **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V**_** and it is getting to be really good. I'm only on episode 21 though so I have like thirty one to get through before I'm caught up. Yuya reminds me of Jaden and is quickly becoming my favorite character in ARC-V right now but, like I said, I'm only on episode 21**

**Jesse: cool, so is that gonna be your question?**

**Blaze: well, I was considering it but I don't want any spoilers for upcoming episode and I get this feeling that more characters are going to be introduced before I get to the newest episode so I'm going to wait until I get through the newest episode**

**Jaden: sweet**

**Blaze: so yeah, I'm gonna end the chapter now and go working on my **_**Yu-Gi-Oh!**_** story, which is going to be posted soon. It's going to be called **_**You're Not Alone**_

**Jesse: cool**

**Blaze: so I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	5. Tourist Attractions of Honolulu

**First of all, I'm so sorry that this is being posted so late. I wanted to post it on the day I said I would post it (I ended up missing the mark by a little over ten minutes but oh well) and so here it is.**

**Thank you to **_**Guest, OpticInferno, SuperNeos2, EndlessNight025, DarkZorua100, a1993, Kamen Rider Sting, Lightningblade49, decode9, reven228, Lightclaw's Shadow **_**and **_**iloveyugiohGX93**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**Here is the last non-dueling chapter of part one and the next chapter, which will be posted either Sunday or Monday of next week, will be Finals of the US Duel Monsters Tournament as well as the last chapter of Part One of **_**Chained**_**.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**5**

**Tourist Attractions of Honolulu**

A few days after the banquet, the gang was walking around Iolani Palace, talking quietly amongst themselves while the adults were walking ahead of them, listening intently to the tour guide. The tour had begun on the bottom floor where the tour guide guided them through the throne room, reception, and dining room. They were now on the upper levels, looking at the living quarters of the royal family.

"When the monarchy was overthrown in 1893, troops of the newly formed Provisional Government of Hawaii took control of this palace and it was renamed the Executive building for the Republic of Hawaii," the tour guide was saying as the group came across one of the rooms. The tour guide then gestured to the room before adding, "This is the room in which Queen Lili'uokalani was imprisoned for nine months following the overthrow and after the second of the Wilcox rebellions in 1895. This was where she stayed before her trial, which was held in the throne room."

Jaden started tuning him out. The tour guide had the tendency to go too much into detail when describing something within the palace and, especially, when talking about the history of it. And he had never been a big fan of history anyway, though he did enjoy some aspects of dueling history, but that was primarily because of his love of dueling.

Raiden, on the other hand, was listening intently but that wasn't that big of a surprise. In terms of learning, Raiden was the opposite of Jaden; he enjoyed learning about anything just as much as he enjoyed reading. Atticus looked bored out of his mind. He yawned before wandering away from the gang, though only Raiden noticed out of the corner of his eye.

_Where's he going?_ he thought, turning his head to watch his friend slip away. He immediately headed after the other boy, knowing leaving Atticus alone was probably not the wisest thing to do.

Atticus was bored and so he decided to go wandering by himself. He didn't think anyone would notice as they were too busy listening to the tour guide, or looking at the various items or talking with each other. He left the palace behind and began wandering around the grounds of the palace, just looking at things. He ended up leaving the grounds of Iolani Palace, finding nothing interesting there, and was walking down the street.

"Atticus!"

Atticus stopped, turned and smiled. "Raiden, my friend! What brings ya here? I thought you were listening to that tour guide?" he said as his friend caught up with him, breathing hard.

"I saw you walk away and decided to make sure you don't get lost," Raiden replied, once he got his breath back.

Atticus raised an eyebrow as he turned and started walking again "I seem to remember you got lost in Minato," he said.

"I was six!" Raiden said as he fell into step beside him.

Atticus chuckled.

**. . .**

After the tour of Iolani Palace, the gang and the adults with them gathered on the sidewalk to decide where to go next.

"There are a lot of places in this area we can visit," Emily said, glancing at the map that she had brought with her. "There's Washington Place, the Kawaiahao Church, the Hawaiian State Art Museum and there's also Chinatown, which is only a few minutes away by car."

"I know we've gotta visit Chinatown at least once this trip," Matt said.

"That does sound interesting," Kaede said. "I'd like to visit Aloha Tower, though. I never got the chance to go there when I came to Honolulu last."

"Can we get lunch first? I'm hungry," Jaden said.

Alexis chuckled fondly. "When aren't you hungry?" she teased.

"Never," Kasumi said with a smirk.

Jaden stuck his tongue out at his sister who responded in kind.

"But now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel hungry, too," the Lightsworn duelist added.

"Me, too," Kyle agreed and Arina nodded in agreement.

Chazz just shrugged. "I could eat," he said.

"What about you, Atticus? Atticus?" Alexis looked around, frowning when she noticed that her brother was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Raiden. "Uh, guys, where's Atticus and Raiden?"

The gang looked around and then looked at each other, puzzled.

"They were here when we were in the palace," Jaden said.

"Yeah. I thought they were right behind us when we left," Kasumi said.

There was a moment of silence, then: "Great. We lost Atticus. Serena's going to kill us," Matt groaned.

**. . .**

"Do you have any idea where we are?"

"I dunno. I was following you. Considering you got lost in Minato, I probably shouldn't have."

"I. Was. Six!"

Raiden and Atticus were currently wandering around Downtown Honolulu with no idea where they were. They hadn't really been paying attention when they started walking and talking after Raiden caught up with Atticus. They probably should have as they were no longer in sight of Iolani Palace and had no idea which way the palace was. They had been walking for a good fifteen minutes before they decided to take a break.

"Hey, might as well make the most of it," Atticus said brightly. "Uncle Matt did say he wanted to visit Chinatown. Maybe we can meet 'em there."

Raiden shrugged. "Might as well," he said and the two headed toward Chinatown.

**. . .**

There wasn't much to see in Chinatown but Celina absolutely loved the botanical garden that could be found at the edge of Chinatown. It took a small fee to get in but she didn't mind paying it as she really did enjoy wandering around it, taking in the natural beauty. She had always enjoyed nature. That was why she enjoyed hiking and camping as much as she did.

Besides, the walk through the botanical garden helped her to clear her mind and get her thoughts off her mentors badgering.

Slade and Jagger were still trying to convince her to use the cards they had bought in her final duel against Keith.

_"They're rare cards and they're powerful. You can win easily with them," Slade had told her._

_"As I said before, do not make the same mistake as our brother," Jagger had said._

Celina shook her head. She couldn't understand why the Princetons couldn't accept that she was planning on trying to win with her own deck. She also still didn't understand why they were so obsessed with this tournament when Celina was already qualified to enter the World Championships next summer because she would be runner-up if she lost to Keith.

_Well, at least Ms. Thomas is still supporting me,_ she thought, smiling as she thought about her foster mother; she seemed to have a soft spot for Celina.

For years, Celina had wondered what she had done to cause her parents to leave her at the orphanage. She blamed herself, thinking she had done something wrong and it took Ms. Thomas, once she took Celina in as a foster child, several times to get it through Celina's head that she was not responsible for what her parents did.

_"It is your parents' fault for leaving you here. It is not yours. Don't ever think that."_

Still, thinking about her parents made Celina think a little about Japan. She knew that was where she had been born, as Ms. Thomas had told her that. At least she was legal in America; that was the only thing her parents had done for her. But she did want to visit Japan; it was where she was born and where her birth parents were from. She also wanted to visit to try to find her birth parents and ask them why they abandoned her.

She sighed. _That's wishful thinking. It's doubtful that they went back to Japan, but then, I barely remember them as it is, _she thought.

She was so deep in thought that she barely managed to stop herself from walking into someone who was also walking around the garden. "Sorry," she said immediately and then started in surprise when she recognized the white-haired young man that she had almost run into.

Ryou Bakura smiled gently at her. "Don't worry about it, Celina," he said.

Celina stared, shocked, that the duelist she looked up to was standing right in front of her.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"You're Ryou Bakura," Celina blurted out and then blushed in embarrassment.

Bakura just chuckled. "Yes, last I checked," he said, amusement dancing in his friendly brown eyes.

"Uh, sorry, I guess I'm a bit surprised to see you here and…how did you know my name?" Celina asked, remembering that Bakura had greeted her by name.

"I've been watching the tournament," Bakura said, "and I was there for the semifinals. You did really well against Nathan. Congrats."

"Uh, thanks," Celina said.

"As for why I'm here, I got bored and decided to try to visit as many places in Honolulu as I can before I leave," the Occult duelist added.

"Ah."

"Good luck in your duel against Keith, by the way," Bakura added. "I've seen him duel, and he's tough. He would have made it pretty far in the last World Championships, had Joey not knocked him out."

"Are you going to be in the World Championships?" Celina asked curiously.

He shook his head. "I got knocked out of the Regional's during the semifinals and so didn't qualify, 'cause you have to be a champion or a runner-up to attend," he said.

"Oh. Well, I'll do my best against Keith."

"That's all you really can do."

_Yeah, but Slade and Jagger don't seem to understand that,_ Celina thought with a frown.

Bakura noticed and frowned as well. "What's the matter?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice.

"Oh, nothing, it's nothing," Celina said.

"You sure? You look upset."

"Yeah." Celina trailed off and then said, "It's just…my mentors don't seem to think the same way you do."

"Not everyone does."

Celina ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah," she said, trailing off.

"For what it's worth, I think Keith's in for a big challenge when you face him," Bakura said.

"Really?" the whitenette asked.

The older whitenette nodded. "Yeah, you've got the potential to be a champion and I think Keith's in danger of losing his title," he said.

Celina smiled uncertainly, not sure if she could believe him or not. Even though she was determined to be the best, she just didn't know if she really could be. The Princetons even doubted her ability. She wasn't going to admit that out loud, though. "I don't wanna underestimate him, though," she said instead.

"That's a good thing. Underestimating your opponent can, and likely will, backfire," said Bakura.

"I've been trying to come up with a strategy to beat him," Celina said. "But he is not predictable, so it's hard."

"No good duelist is predictable," Bakura said. "Just look at Yugi. He is almost undefeated."

"Almost?"

"From what he's told me, he's only lost a few fair duels. Even champions like Yugi can lose, you know."

"True."

"If you want my advice, I suggest you not focus too much on your strategy because it is likely you will have to change it during the duel, especially if you don't know your opponent well."

Celina smiled. "I'll keep that in mind," she said. "So, are you gonna be at the finals?"

"Yes, I'll be there."

Celina's cell phone rang at that moment and she slipped it out of her pocket. "Excuse me," she said and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"_Celina, where are you?_" Slade's voice sounded at the other end of the phone.

"I'm just taking a walk through the Foster Botanical Garden, Mr. Princeton," Celina replied.

"_Have you finished working on your strategy for your duel?_"

"I've got a few days until then, Mr. Princeton. Besides, I don't think it's a good idea for me to focus too much on my strategy," Celina said, glancing at Bakura, who was looking over his shoulder as someone had just called his name.

"_You won't be able to win if you don't have a good enough strategy, especially since you still refuse to use the cards we're offering you,_" Slade said.

"I plan on winning with my own deck, Mr. Princeton," Celina said, watching as a familiar blonde Egyptian jogged over to join them.

"Bakura, there you are. I've been looking all over Chinatown for you," Marik exclaimed.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you just call me?" he asked.

"Erm, my phone kinda died on me."

"Did you forget to charge it last night?"

"Maybe."

Bakura chuckled and shook his head in amusement.

"_Are you still there?_" Slade asked.

"Yeah, I'm still here. I'll be back later. I want to finish my walk through this garden," Celina said.

"_Fine. We still think it would be best if you used the cards we are offering you,_" Slade said.

"Didn't I just tell you that I wanted to win with my own deck?" Celina asked curtly.

"_Yes, but using our cards will ensure that you do not lose,_" Slade said.

"And how do you know that? How do you know that using those cards you're telling me to use will make sure I win?" Celina demanded.

"_They are rare and very powerful._"

"So? You don't need rare and powerful cards to win a duel. I've won all my duels with my own deck and they are not rare or too powerful, even if they are new."

"_Still, their power will definitely help your deck._"

"Look, how many times must I tell you this? I. Plan. On. Winning. With. My. Own. Deck!" Celina hissed, her temper flaring. It was her temper flaring that was the reason she had left the hotel anyway; the Princetons just would not let it go and let her use her own deck. It was as if they really thought she would lose without their cards, despite her winning all the duels leading up to her duel with Keith.

"_Yes, you plan on winning. There is no guarantee you will win,_" Slade said firmly.

"So what if I don't win? I mean, I still qualify for the World Championship tournament. That's gotta count for something, right?"

"_Second place is not good enough._"

Celina rolled her eyes. "Hmph, I think second place is a pretty good accomplishment. I mean, plenty of duelists have gotten second place and are still very strong duelists. Just look at Marik," she said. Her phone beeped and she pulled it away from her ear to look at it. "My battery's about to die, Mr. Princeton. I'll be back in a few hours. Bye." She hung up before Slade could respond.

"I take it that was your manager," Bakura said.

"More a mentor," Celina said, pocketing her phone and then looked at Marik, adding, "Mr. Ishtar, I'm Celina." She held out a hand.

"I know, and call me Marik," Marik said, taking her hand and shaking it. "If you want my advice, I say just use whatever cards you're comfortable with. Like you said, it doesn't take rare and powerful cards to win a duel. That's something I learned in the years after Battle City."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

**. . .**

It was early evening. The sun hung low in the sky and Raiden and Atticus were, once again, hopelessly lost.

"Rai, do you have any idea where you're going?"

"No. Do you have any idea where we are?"

"No."

"Great."

"Why don't you just call your aunt and uncle?"

"I would, but my phone's dead. Why don't you?"

"I would, but I left my phone in my room."

A sigh, then: "So, what now?"

"No idea."

"Hey, look, they're having a party on the beach."

"Correct term is luau, Atticus. Atticus? Where are you going?"

"Where else?"

"Don't tell me you're gonna crash that luau?"

"Why not? Besides, I see some pretty ladies there. Maybe I can set you up with one of 'em."

"Don't even think about it. Atticus!'

**. . .**

Marik walked alongside Bakura, who looked thoughtful, and he glanced at him. "What are you thinking about?" he asked his white-haired friend.

"Hmm, oh just Celina," Bakura said.

"You do know she's ten years younger than you, right?" Marik was rewarded with a hard smack upside the head.

"Not in that way," Bakura said. "No, I was actually thinking about our conversation and what we overheard on her side of her conversation with her mentor."

"What about it?"

"Well, it seems to me that Celina's under a lot of pressure. I mean, she did state that she wanted to win with her own deck, twice, and the second time she sounded frustrated. I get the feeling that wasn't the first time she's had that argument with her mentor."

"And your point is…?" Marik looked puzzled.

Bakura sighed. "Celina's a very good duelist and she has the potential to be so much better than she is right now. She understands that she doesn't need the help of rare and powerful cards, and yet I get the feeling her mentors don't think the same way. I also remember Celina saying that her mentors don't understand that all she can do is her best."

"So?"

"Personally, I don't think her mentors are very good mentors."

"And…?"

"And I think her mentors don't have very much faith in her ability to win against Keith Saturday."

"Okay, how'd you figure that?"

"Just the fact that her mentors don't seem to think she's capable of winning with her own deck. At least, that's what I got from the talk, though I only heard Celina's side of it."

"While I agree with that, why are you so focused on this?"

"I want to help her," Bakura admitted. "She has so much potential and yet it seems like she doubts herself, or maybe her mentors doubt her."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't, really, so maybe I'm completely wrong, but that's the impression I got."

Marik didn't respond to that and started walking again and Bakura fell into step beside him.

"You know, if she didn't already have mentors, I'd take her under my wing," Bakura said thoughtfully, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

"Personally, I think you'd be a good mentor," Marik said.

"You think so?"

Marik nodded. "You've really gotten better in the years since, well, you know," he said.

Bakura smiled a little, knowing what Marik was referring to. He had been an okay duelist, but he never really got to practice himself since he got the Millennium Ring; after the Millennium Items were sealed following the Ceremonial Duel, he had decided to try and become a better duelist and asked if Yugi would be willing to teach him.

"I had Yugi's help," he reminded the Egyptian.

"True."

**. . .**

"Still no word on where Atticus and Raiden are?" Jaden asked, joining Alexis in the dining room within the hotel.

Alexis shook her head. "His phone's probably dead. Aunt Emily, Uncle Matt and your dad are still out looking for him," she said. "Have you been able to reach Raiden?"

"He left his phone in our room," Jaden said, sitting down beside his girlfriend. "I tried calling him as soon as we realized he was missing."

"Do you think they're all right?'

"Ah, I'm sure they are. Where do you think they are?"

Alexis seemed to think about it for a minute before she said, "Well, hopefully, they won't get arrested or anything," she said.

"Nah, Raiden would never do anything like that. By the way, I wanted to give you something," Jaden said, remembering what he had bought the day before at one of the stores Kasumi and Emily had suggested he go to when he told them he wanted to get something for Alexis for a late birthday gift, since he hadn't been able to get her anything before her birthday.

He held out the square-shaped velvet box toward his girlfriend. "Happy late birthday, Lex," he said.

Alexis smiled and took the box before opening it, gasping when she saw it. "Oh my, this is beautiful, Jaden," she whispered, lifting the necklace out of the box. It was a silver heart-shaped pendant encrusted with sapphires and connected to a silver chain.

"I kinda got help from Kasumi and your aunt. Your aunt was the one that suggested it since I honestly couldn't think of what to get you to show how much I cared," Jaden said, cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Thank you, Jaden," Alexis said and held it out to him. "Will you help me put it on?"

Jaden nodded and, after Alexis turned and lifted her hair out of the way, he gently put in on so that it rested at the base of her throat. She lowered her head and touched the pendant and then looked at Jaden. "This must've cost a lot, though," she said. "Still, thank you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently kissed him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her back.

"Get a room, you two," Chazz said as he walked into the dining room with Arina just behind him.

Jaden flipped him off for that but broke off the kiss, more because he needed air than because of Chazz, though.

**. . .**

"So ya lost your cousin and your cousin's friend?" Joey asked, looking at Keith who was sitting in his armchair, running a hand through his hair.

"Technically, Dad lost 'em. I was here. I've tried calling Atticus but it goes straight to voicemail, so I'm guessing that his phone's dead," Keith said.

"I'm sure he's all right, though," Yugi said.

"Yeah. I just don't know why he hasn't called. Dad made sure that we had his number memorized just in case something like this happened," Keith said.

"If ya want, we could help ya look," Joey suggested. "We've got nothing better to do, anyway."

"By the way, has anyone seen Marik and Bakura?" Yugi asked curiously. "They said they'd meet us here."

The door opened and Marik and Bakura walked into the room. "Hey, guys," Marik greeted them.

"Hey, Marik, Bakura," Yugi said.

"What's up?"

"My cousin and my cousin's friend are lost," Keith said.

"We were gonna go see if we could help find 'em," Joey said.

"Do we have any idea where they are? 'Cause Honolulu's a big city and we can't exactly cover all of it in one day," Bakura pointed out.

"Well, Mom, Dad, and Mr. Yuki are looking around Iolani Palace, since that's where we last saw 'em," Keith said. "It's possible that he could be at the beach, though, so maybe we could start looking there."

"Sounds like a plan," Joey said, standing up.

Keith also stood up. "It's late. If we wanna try and find 'em before it gets too late, we should go," he said.

**. . .**

"You see, I told you they wouldn't mind," Atticus said brightly. He and Raiden were currently surrounded by a few pretty ladies at the luau that Atticus had decided to crash, and dragged Raiden into joining him. They both had lei around their necks as music played in the background. It was already evening; stars glittered in the night sky and the beach was lit by torches.

Raiden sighed. "I never said they would," he said, briefly noticing that a few girls were watching them and whispering to their friends, giggling. Atticus had noticed and winked at the girls, which caused them to giggle again and Raiden to face-palm.

"How did I get caught up in this mess?" he murmured into his hand.

"You followed me," Atticus said.

"That was a rhetorical question."

"C'mon, Rai, lighten up! It's our vacation." Atticus grabbed Raiden's arm and practically dragged him over to join the giggling girls.

"Hello, ladies," he said.

One of the girls giggled. "Hi, you two are cute," she said.

"And you are very pretty," Atticus said with a smile.

The girl giggled again and pointed to Raiden, who was mutely standing off to the side. "Is he shy or something?"

"Or something," Raiden muttered, glaring at Atticus, who smiled.

"He can be. He's single, y'know," Atticus said brightly.

"Atticus!"

**. . .**

Chazz and Arina were with the rest of the group in the dining room. It was around time for dinner but there was still no sign of Atticus and Raiden. Matt, Emily and Kaede hadn't returned yet, though the gang did learn that Keith had gotten Joey, Yugi, Marik and Bakura to help them look. But, so far, they didn't seem to be having much luck as Alexis, whom they said they would call if they found them, hadn't received any phone calls.

"I hope they're all right," Arina said, resting her head on Chazz's shoulder.

"Yeah, me, too," Chazz said.

Arina lifted her head before looking at him. "Where do you think they are?"

"No idea. I don't know 'em well enough to know where they could've gone."

"They'll be fine, Lex," Jaden said, nearby as he rubbed his girlfriend's back.

"Why haven't they called, though? Atticus knows my number," Alexis said worriedly.

"They could be somewhere where there isn't a phone," Kyle said.

"Maybe." Alexis looked at Jaden. "Aren't you worried?"

"A little," Jaden admitted. "This isn't the first time Raiden's wandered off and gotten lost, though. I remember him getting lost in Minato when he was six. I don't remember much of what happened, but I do remember it took my parents a few hours to find him, but he was fine when they did."

"Where did they find him?" Kasumi asked curiously.

Jaden thought back and then shrugged. "I don't really remember," he said.

"Well, let's hope he's fine this time, too."

"I'm sure he will be."

**. . .**

Raiden and Atticus were sitting at the back of the crowd, watching the performers perform the hula, when a shout of "Atticus! Raiden!" sounded and he and Atticus turned their heads to see Keith running toward them with Joey, Bakura, Marik and Yugi just behind him.

"Hiya, Keith, what brings ya here?" Atticus said with a wave as he got to his feet and Raiden followed suit.

"What brings us here? What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know Mom and Dad are worried about you? So is everyone else!" Keith exclaimed quietly to avoid distracting the people who were watching the performance.

"We kinda got lost," Raiden said.

"Obviously. Why didn't you call?"

"Atticus's phone died and I left mine in my hotel room."

"Why didn't you ask to borrow someone else's phone or ask for directions back to the hotel?"

Raiden and Atticus exchanged glances and Atticus sheepishly said, "Uh, we kinda didn't think of that."

Keith sighed and pulled out his phone. He dialed a number and then held it up to his ear. "We found Atticus and Raiden," he said into it.

A moment of silence passed, then: "Some luau on the beach a few miles away from the hotel."

Another moment of silence, then: "Sure. Atticus, Uncle Matt wants to talk to you," Keith said, holding out the phone to Atticus.

Atticus took it. "Hello?" he said into it and then winced.

Raiden got the feeling he was being scolded.

"Sorry, sorry, Rai and I didn't really think of that," Atticus said.

Another moment of silence, then: "Yeah, yeah, I know. We should've done that as soon as we realized we were lost." Another moment passed. "Ah man. Okay, bye." Atticus pouted as he handed the phone back to Keith.

"What happened?" Raiden asked.

"They're gonna tell my parents," Atticus muttered.

"Raiden, your dad wants to talk to you," Keith said, holding out the phone to the other brunet.

Raiden took it. "Hello?" he said.

"_Thank goodness you're all right. Why didn't you call me or Jaden or Kasumi or anyone?_" Kaede asked, relief clear in his voice.

"I kinda forgot my phone in the hotel room."

"_So why didn't you ask to borrow a phone? You've had me worried all day._"

Raiden sighed, feeling guilty. "Sorry, Dad, I didn't mean to worry ya. We didn't really think about it."

"_Obviously. We'll talk more when you get back to the hotel_," Kaede said firmly and then asked Raiden to return the phone to Keith.

Keith took it. "We're heading back to the hotel now," he said into it.

"Aw man, can't we stay for the rest of the luau?" Atticus asked pleadingly. "I mean, no sense in leaving before the party's over."

Raiden shook his head in exasperation.

**. . .**

"Raiden!"

"Atticus!"

Jaden, Kasumi and Alexis immediately went to Raiden and Atticus as soon as the exhausted duelists walked into the room; both of them had lei around their necks and Atticus looked happy, though that could be because he had some lipstick on his cheek from where he had been kissed by one of the girls at the luau.

"Hey, guys," Atticus said with a wave.

"Where have you been?" Alexis asked.

"Got lost, found a luau and stayed there 'till Keith and the others found us. Plus, a pretty girl kissed me so I'm happy."

"You won't be once Aunt Serena finds out you 'forgot' to find a phone and call us when you found yourself lost," Keith said dryly.

"Way to kill the mood, Keith."

"And what happened with you?" Jaden asked his brother, raising an eyebrow. "Wait, let me guess, you were the one that got you and Atticus lost, right?"

Raiden smacked his brother upside the head, glowering.

Jaden, rubbing his head, smiled.

Kaede entered the lobby at that moment with Matt and Emily just behind them, Emily was on the phone and she turned to Atticus. "Atticus, your mom wants to talk to you," she said.

Atticus sighed but took the phone. "Hey, Mom," he said into it and walked away with the phone.

Kaede walked over to Raiden and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Next time, don't forget to use common sense," he said.

"I'm not convinced he has any," Jaden teased and was smacked upside the head again. "I'm kidding, Rai."

Kasumi chuckled. "So you ended up in a luau?" she asked.

"Yeah, we had fun, though, so I guess that's something," Raiden said with a shrug.

Atticus walked over to join them, handing the phone back to Emily. "I didn't get into trouble, but Mom said that I should've used common sense," he said.

"That's what Dad told me," Raiden said with a shrug and then stopped. He pointed to the silver pendant that hung around Alexis's neck. "Whoa, Alexis, where'd you get that?"

Alexis rested her hand on it, a small smile on her face. "It was a late birthday gift from Jaden," she said.

"How the hell were you able to afford that?" Raiden said, turning to his brother, who shrugged.

"Dad helped me out," he replied.

"Oh."

**. . .**

Friday, the day before the final match of the tournament, found the gang at the Aloha Tower. They were currently in the tenth floor observation deck, looking at the various landmarks they could see like the harbor and the towering Koolau Mountains. Jaden curled an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and Alexis leaned against him.

"I wonder if Dad's gonna cut the vacation short since we're running outta places to visit after the finals tomorrow," Jaden mused.

"Maybe," Alexis said.

Nearby, Chazz and Arina were talking quietly with each other as they gazed out the window.

"So, why don't you like them?" Arina asked. She had learned sometime before that Chazz could see and talk to duel spirits and she had wondered why he didn't seem to like his duel spirits, so she decided to ask.

"They're annoying," Chazz grunted, glaring at Ojama Yellow, who was currently floating right in front of him, taking in the view. "Will you get outta my way?!"

'_Sorry_, boss, but this is such a nice view!' Ojama Yellow said. '_I'm_ _gonna ask Blue, Red, Green and Black to join us!_'

Chazz's eye twitched. "One of you is enough," he growled.

'_It's_ _not very nice to play favorites, boss,_' Ojama Yellow pointed out.

"I'm not playing favorites. I don't like all of you equally!"

'_Ah,_ _I know ya like us, boss,_' Ojama Yellow said brightly.

"That wasn't very nice," Arina said at the same time.

"I guess," Chazz muttered. He wasn't going to apologize, though.

"I think it'd be nice to have a duel spirit," Arina said thoughtfully.

Chazz shrugged.

Nearby, Kasumi was watching her duel spirit. She and Shire had gotten close in the months since she had started to see and hear the fairy. Shire also had a childlike curiosity and seemed to enjoy discovering new things and exploring new places. She was currently zooming around the observation deck, startling Chazz and amusing Jaden and Raiden, as well as their duel spirits, who were hovering behind them, before returning to Kasumi's side.

'_I like this place. We're so high up!_' Shire exclaimed excitedly.

Kasumi chuckled. "It's a nice view," she said, turning to the mountains.

Shire sat down on the Lightsworn duelist's shoulder. '_Look,_ _I can see our hotel from here,_' she cried happily, pointing a little hand toward the hotel in the distance. There was no telling if it was really their hotel but Kasumi decided against pointing that out.

She just chuckled.

Kaede walked over to stand beside Kasumi. "Your mother says hi," he said.

"How is she?" Kasumi asked.

"Fine. She just got back to Japan earlier today," Kaede said.

"Oh. That's good."

Kaede nodded in agreement. Inwardly, though, he was concerned because his wife was still paranoid. Though she had agreed to talk with a therapist about what happened, he knew that she still believed in that warning.

He glanced toward Kasumi who was gazing at the mountains, occasionally saying something to something only she could see—something that Jaden and Raiden did a lot—and then turned to Jaden and Alexis who were sharing a kiss and Raiden who was talking to something only he could see.

_I hope that I'm right about this. I don't want to know what he would do if he really is back, especially not after what happened at the hospital when he left,_ Kaede thought.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, that was chapter 5, the second to last chapter of part one**

**Darth: cool**

**Blaze: you know, I've started watching Season 0 of **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! **_**again ****and, while it is very good and I kinda may have had a fangirl moment when Bakura came into the picture, I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that Kaiba had green hair. **_**Green hair!**_

**Kaiba: yeah, we don't talk about that point in time**

**Yami: I still find it hilarious**

**Bakura: so do I**

**Marik: (looks out the window)**

**Jaden: checking to see if the apocalypse has started?**

**Marik: Yami and Bakura are agreeing on something so yeah I am**

**Jesse: (chuckles and holds up piece of paper) question time?**

**Bakura: you actually have a question?**

**Blaze: I just finished all 52 posted episodes of **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V **_**so, yeah, I've got questions for this chapter and the next two chapters after this one**

**Jesse: well, I'll read today's question then. Today's question is: Who is your favorite **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V**_** character? If you have more than one, please name your top five. Blaze's favorite ARC-V characters, in order as of right now, are Yuya Sakaki, Yuzu Hiragi, Yuto, Shun Kurosaki and Reiji Akaba.**

**Jaden: cool**

**Blaze: yup. So I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	6. The Finals: Dragons and Machines

**Before we get started, I have three things that I must tell you.**

**1: I am sorry that I am a day late in putting this up but it took my beta-reader a bit longer to finish the duel (again, I give full credit to that duel to her since she definitely made it worthy of being a championship duel). But the next two chapters are without duels so I won't be late with them (I hope).**

**2: I changed it to where Celina lives in a foster home as opposed to an orphanage and already made the change in the previous chapters (I **_**think **_**I caught all mentions of it but feel free to point out if I missed any). As my beta-reader pointed out, it makes much more sense in this day and age.**

**3: Yes, I do know Ally of Justice Decisive Armor is a Synchro monster but, in order to make this duel much better—and because both my beta-reader and I agree that Decisive Armor is a badass ace monster—we agreed to change it to a Fusion monster. The changed stats will be included at the end of this chapter. I hope no one minds and I am sorry if you do.**

**Okay, sorry about the long beginning author's note but I had to point these things out.**

**Thank you to **_**SuperNeos2, Guest, DarkZorua100, decode9, StrawHatLuffy94, EndlessNight025, a1993, Lightclaw's Shadow, iloveyugiohGX93, Kamen Rider Sting **_**and**_** reven228**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest!**

**And, as usual, thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader (huh, I forgot to put this in the last chapter, aw well) and, as I already mentioned above, credit for this duel goes to **_**EndlessNight025**_**.**

**I do hope you enjoy the finals of the US Duel Monsters Championship Tournament and the next chapter will be the "Prelude to Chaos", heehee (that's actually the title of the next chapter, by the way). Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**6**

**The Finals: Dragons and Machines**

Saturday morning came and Jaden was up with the sun due to another nightmare. He rolled onto his side but knew it was pointless to get back to sleep. It didn't help that he was having a bad feeling. _But what could be causing this bad feeling?_ he thought.

He sighed as he rolled onto his back and sat up, deciding to get ready for the day. He was excited about seeing Keith versus Celina today, though, but then, he always was excited before either watching or participating in a duel.

Getting to his feet, Jaden stretched and went to get ready. As expected, his dad had already left; he was always one to wake up before dawn.

A few hours later, Jaden was ready to go while Raiden was still fast asleep, bundled under heavy blankets since the room did get a bit chilly during the night because of the air conditioner. Jaden watched his sleeping brother and then grinned.

'_You're_ _gonna get him back for telling Kasumi to give you a wake-up call as well as for a few days ago, aren't you?_' Yubel said.

_Of course,_ Jaden thought. He thought about summoning a monster but decided against it and just grasped the edge of the mattress before flipping it. With a yelp, Raiden ended up on the ground with a thud, entangled within his sheets. Raiden's head poked up from behind the bed as Jaden let the mattress fall back down, laughing.

"Oh, that was so not cool, Judai," Raiden growled, untangling himself from the sheets and getting to his feet.

Jaden smirked. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" he said.

Raiden responded by tossing a pillow at Jaden.

He ducked and jogged out of the room, shouting, "We're going out for breakfast so hurry up and get ready!" as he left the room, barely avoiding the next pillow his brother had chugged at him.

'_Raiden hates it when you do that,_' Yubel commented, floating after Jaden as he headed toward the elevator. The gang had decided to meet in the lobby.

"Oh, I know it irritates him. It's why I do it," Jaden said with a smirk.

Yubel shook her head, amused.

Jaden walked into the lobby a few minutes later to find almost everyone there; Kasumi was yawning, covering her mouth as she did so, as she talked with Alexis. Arina was talking with a tired looking Chazz while Kyle, Atticus and Keith were also talking nearby. Arina spotted Jaden first.

"Good morning, Jaden," she said.

"Morning," Jaden said, walking over to join Alexis.

"You're actually up? Has the apocalypse begun?" Kasumi asked, eyes dancing with amusement. She knew that Jaden did actually wake up by himself at times because of his nightmares, but that didn't stop her from teasing him about it all the time.

"Funny, Kas, real funny," Jaden said dryly, wrapping an arm around Alexis's waist and kissing her cheek. "Morning, beautiful."

Alexis chuckled, cheeks going red. "Morning," she said, turning and giving Jaden's cheek a kiss.

"Where's Raiden?" Kasumi asked.

"Unless he fell back asleep, probably finishing getting ready," Jaden said with a shrug.

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "That's something you would do," she said.

Jaden didn't respond.

Raiden walked into the lobby at that moment, yawning and glaring at Jaden, who just smirked back at him.

"Like I said before, payback," the E-Hero duelist said with a shrug.

"What happened?" Kasumi asked.

"I finally got him back for that little wake-up call he told you to give me," Jaden said.

Kasumi snickered.

A while later, the gang and the adults had breakfast at a nearby restaurant. As they ate, they discussed what they were planning on doing after the tournament ended. Matt and Emily were staying for a few more days, which meant Kyle, Alexis, and Atticus were also staying. Arina told them that her parents were fine with her staying for a few more days while Chazz just shrugged and said his brothers' probably didn't care.

"They haven't cared so far, so why should they suddenly care now?" he had said.

"Can we stay a few more days too, Dad?" Kasumi asked.

"I did take an extra week off just in case you wanted to stay a bit longer after the tournament ended, so that's fine," Kaede said.

"Sweet! I have more time to learn how to surf!" Raiden said brightly.

"Sweet! I get to watch you wipe out more," Jaden said.

Raiden glared at him.

**. . .**

Celina looked through her deck.

She still refused to use the cards Slade and Jagger had offered her. She was determined to duel Keith using her own cards as she felt more comfortable with them. If she lost, she lost. She wouldn't get upset because she would know that she had done her best with her own cards.

Her Ally of Justice cards were amazing. They had only been released in the same month that Slade and Jagger took her under their wing and she had gotten them right before then, though she still had some trouble working out the kinks but she was confident in them.

Celina shuffled her deck and then fanned the cards out as the door to the hotel room opened and Slade and Jagger walked into it. As usual, they were dressed in suits and Jagger was carrying a briefcase that Celina knew was filled with the cards they were still trying to get her to use.

"I'm not using 'em," Celina said, not giving them time to talk.

Slade sighed. "Celina, we're just trying to help you win," he said.

"So you've said, several times now, but the answer is still no. Like Marik said, I should use the cards I'm most comfortable with and these cards"—she held up her deck—"are the ones I'm most comfortable with."

Jagger placed the briefcase next to Celina on the bed. "They will be there if you change your mind," he said. "Just don't lose. Got that?"

The whitenette shook her head. "I'm already gonna be able to participate in the World Championship Tournament, Mr. and Mr. Princeton, why must I win this duel?" she said. It wasn't the first time she had asked that question and, like all the other times, the Princetons didn't answer her. Granted, she knew that winning was a fantastic feeling but she had the feeling it was more than that with the Princetons.

"Second place is not good enough," was all Slade said while Jagger just remained silent.

"For you, it isn't. It is for me," Celina said, slipping her deck into her deck case. "But I'll still do my best." She would like to win; to become U.S. Duel Champion would be an amazing accomplishment. However, she wanted to win on her own, with her own skills, using her own cards. She was not going to take the easy way out, if using rare and powerful cards was considered the easy way out, that is.

_With how much they're harping on me to win and to use their cards to do so, it's as if they doubt I _can_ win,_ Celina thought.

Slade and Jagger left but they were replaced by another person, a more familiar person. Tall, slim, and older with long blonde hair and kind gray eyes, Ms. Thomas stood in the doorway of the hotel room with a small smile on her face as Celina stared in utter shock.

"Ms. Thomas!" she gasped, jumping to her feet and rushing over to join her foster mother. "What are you doing here?"

"Why else? I'm here to watch your duel," Ms. Thomas said.

"But what about the other kids?"

Thomas grinned. "They wanted to see you duel, too," she said.

"But how were you able to get tickets? It's been sold out for months," Celina said, still stunned that her foster mother was there.

"It's a good thing I have friends in high places in the dueling world," Thomas said. "She was able to pull a few strings to get me and the other children here."

"Where are they?"

"In the lobby. I decided to come up and surprise you and I figured you would want some warning before you're tackled by the little ones. Lisa's watching them."

Celina chuckled. "Just let me finish getting ready and I'll meet you in the lobby. It shouldn't be more than five minutes," she said.

Thomas nodded and left the hotel room.

A little over five minutes later, Celina stepped out of the elevator and walked into the lobby.

"Celina!"

"Oof!"

The white-haired girl suddenly found herself on the ground with three five-year-olds sitting on her; two were girls who looked alike, with the same brown hair, while the third was a boy with darker brown hair. All three of them wore identical grins of happiness.

"Renee, Natalie, Gabriel, it's good to see you, too. But could you please get off me?" Celina asked.

The three children giggled, but they did as they were told and climbed off her.

"I did warn you," Thomas said.

"I know," Celina said, getting to her feet.

"I can't wait to see you become Duel Champion, Celina," Renee said excitedly.

Celina chuckled. "I'll do my best, Renee, but Keith's a strong opponent and he has been champion for two years now."

"Yeah, but you're the best, too. You're gonna win!" Natalie said excitedly.

"Uh huh, and it's gonna be awesome!" Gabriel agreed.

Lisa, the second oldest of the kids in the foster home who was only ten, walked over to join the kids. "All right, you three, we should get you something to eat for lunch before we head over to the arena. Celina's gotta go now," she said.

"Aww, can't she stay longer? We haven't seen her in, like, forever," Renee whined.

Celina smiled; she missed this, she really did.

She knelt down in front of Renee, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I've gotta go, Renee," she said. "The duelists have to get there early in order to get ready, and all that. I'll see you after the duel, okay?"

Renee pouted but nodded. "Okay," she said.

Lisa walked over to Celina as the white-haired girl stood up. "Good luck out there, Lina," she said. "I know you're gonna be great, whether you win or lose."

"Thanks, Lisa," Celina said. "I'll see you at the arena. Maybe, afterwards, Ms. Thomas, we can treat the kids to ice cream."

"Ice cream!" the three five-year-olds shouted at the same time.

Thomas laughed. "We'll see," she said.

"Yay!"

Lisa chuckled at the little kids' enthusiasm.

"Come on, Lisa. Let's get the little ones fed. We'll see you at the arena, Celina, and good luck," Thomas said, turning to Celina.

"Thanks," the whitenette replied and watched as Thomas guided Lisa, Renee, Gabriel and Natalie away.

**. . .**

"So, are ya ready for this?" Joey asked, relaxing in an armchair as he watched Keith go through his deck.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Keith replied, not looking up from his cards. "Celina's gonna be a tough opponent, though. I'm sure I'm gonna be in for a fight to keep my title."

Bakura, who was sitting in another armchair, smiled. "I agree," he said quietly.

"We'll be cheering ya on, though," Joey said.

"Thanks."

Keith shuffled his deck and placed it back in its deck case. He then stood up and walked over to the window of the VIP box where Joey, Yugi, Kaiba and Pegasus would be watching the duel; the latter three weren't there yet. Bakura and Marik were only staying there for the time being; they said they wanted to be as close to the action as possible, though, and so would be sitting in the front row as they had during Keith's semifinals duel.

Already, the stadium was filling up with people. Keith scanned the crowds, not surprised to find his parents, brother, cousins and their friends being among the first to arrive. They had taken to arriving early to avoid the rush.

"Well, I'd better get going," he said, turning around.

"We'll walk with you," Marik said, getting to his feet.

"Good luck, Keith," Joey said.

"Thanks, Joey," Keith said as he, Marik, and Bakura left the VIP box.

**. . .**

"Who do you think'll win?" Jaden asked his brother as he sat down in the stands.

Raiden shrugged. "I dunno. Seeing both of 'em duel, it's gonna be tough for either of 'em to win, I think," he said.

"While I am cheering for Keith, I already know he's gonna have a fight on his hands. I've seen a few of Celina's other duels, not just the semifinals duel against Nathan, and she certainly is determined," Kyle said quietly with a small smile.

"It's gonna be one intense duel," Atticus said.

Arina nodded. "Well, I'm just looking forward to a good duel," she said.

Chazz was looking into the arena silently and Arina followed his gaze to find Slade and Jagger talking with Celina near the dueling platform. She took her boyfriend's hand in hers and gently squeezed it. Chazz gave her a small smile but otherwise said nothing.

"If you want my opinion, Chazz, I think you're better off without them," Arina said quietly.

"That doesn't change the fact that I basically don't have a family anymore," Chazz murmured and then shook his head. "But whatever, you're right. I don't need 'em."

Arina didn't say anything. She knew that Chazz was still hurt by his brothers' rejection of him, heat of the moment response or not. She placed an arm around Chazz's shoulders and gently kissed him on the cheek, causing his cheeks to redden.

"Let's just enjoy the duel, okay?" she said.

Chazz shrugged and nodded.

Jaden was watching the entire exchange without the couple noticing. _Poor Chazz,_ he thought. He knew it would not be a good idea to say such a thing out loud as he knew Chazz would not want pity. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like, were he in Chazz's position.

He cast a sidelong glance at his own siblings. Kasumi and Raiden were laughing at Shire's antics as the little fairy duel spirit flew around their area of the stadium, flying past people and mimicking others while Rogue chased after her, trying to get her to calm down. He smiled a little.

_I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Rai and Kas with me. They're my family and I love 'em. I would hate to lose 'em. Is this how Chazz feels? _Jaden turned to Chazz again. Even though his brothers treated him badly after the School Duel, they are still his family.

'_While I agree with that, Judai, I don't think you should interfere. It's his problem to overcome, not yours,_' Yubel said gently.

_I know, but I can't help but want to help,_ Jaden admitted silently, turning back to the arena before Chazz noticed he was watching him.

'_Your_ _heart is in the right place, Judai. It's good that you want to help, but there are some things you just can't help with,_' Yubel said.

_I know._

**. . .**

"Welcome, everyone, to the Finals of the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament. How is everyone feeling today?" Jackson called and was answered by the roar of the crowd. "Ah, we've got a good crowd today. Today we will determine whether or not we will crown a new Duel Champion, or if Keith's streak will continue with his third U.S. Championship win in a row. Now let's get to it! First, welcome back our commentators for the event, Elizabeth Harley and Bryan Stone."

Again, people cheered, impatient for the duel to begin.

Jackson chuckled. "The energy in the room sure is strong. Since the crowd appears to be getting impatient, let's get to it!" he said.

Celina stood away from the dueling platform, checking to make sure her duel disk was strapped securely to her arm and then shuffling her deck. Slade and Jagger stood off to one side.

"Just remember to go out there and win," Slade said.

"Yeah, yeah," Celina said.

Jagger leaned toward his brother and murmured, "Do you suppose she is going to use the cards we gave her?"

"If she doesn't, she will lose," Slade murmured back.

Unfortunately, Celina heard them and she flinched. _They really do doubt my ability to win on my own. I've gotta prove 'em wrong,_ she thought, determination flaring through her.

"First off, let me introduce the challenger. She is the representative of the Princeton Group and the Ally of Justice duelist. Please give a warm welcome to Celina White," Jackson called out.

Celina stepped onto the platform as Ally of Justice Thunder Armor flew over her and she waved at the cheering crowd, focusing on the upcoming duel and not on her mentors doubt in her ability to win. _I can win this on my own. I know that I can,_ she thought.

"And now, let me introduce her opponent. He is the two time United States Duel Champion and the Dragon Duelist. Please give a warm welcome to Keith Rhodes!" Jackson called out. The crowd cheered, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 flew overhead, roaring as Keith walked onto the platform, waving at the crowd.

"Now, duelists, cut each other's deck and let's get this duel on the road," Jackson called.

Celina took a deep breath as she walked over to join Keith who smiled at her.

"Good luck," he said, holding out his deck to Celina as she placed hers in his hand.

"Thanks. You too," she said as she cut the U.S. Duel Champion's deck.

She and Keith retrieved their own decks and walked to opposite ends of the dueling platform, their duel disks whirring to life as they did so.

"Dragons versus Machines, this is going to be interesting," Elizabeth commented.

"You've found every duel so far interesting," Bryan said.

"True."

"Ready, Celina? 'Cause I ain't gonna go easy," Keith said with a smile.

"I'd be disappointed if you did," Celina said.

"Duel," they declared as they drew their opening hands.

**Keith: 8000**

**Celina: 8000**

"I'll start things off," Keith said, drawing his sixth card. He looked at it and then placed it on his duel disk. "And I'll go with Twin-Headed Behemoth in Defense Mode."

A twin-headed purple dragon appeared on the field and wrapped its short wings around itself as it crouched to the ground (A: 1500/D: 1200).

"And I'll end with one card face-down," Keith added, inserting a card into his duel disk and a vertical facedown card appeared at his feet. "Let's see what you got, Celina."

Celina smiled as she drew her sixth card and then picked another card in her hand. "Okay then. I activate Cost Down," she said, holding out the card and then inserting it into her duel disk.

"Nice. By discarding a card in her hand, Celina can downgrade the Level of every monster in her hand by two until the End Phase," Elizabeth said as Celina did exactly that, discarding Ally Salvo from her hand.

"And now that Clausolas is a Level four monster, I can now summon it directly to my field in Attack Mode," Celina said, placing the card on her disk.

In a spiral of wind, a bronze metallic bird with sharp metallic gray claws appeared on the field, spreading its wings as it let out a screech (A: 2300/D: 1200).

"A Level six monster with that strength on the first turn? Not bad, Celina," Keith said with an incline of his head.

"Let's see how you like his attack. Clausolas, attack Twin-Headed Behemoth," Celina ordered. Her machine bird flew into the air and then over until it was directly above Twin-Headed Behemoth before it dived downward, sinking its metallic claws into the two-headed dragon and ripping it to pieces.

"And then I'll place this facedown and end my turn," Celina added as Clausolas returned to her side of the field, its Level returning to 6, as a vertical facedown appeared at her feet.

"And my Twin-Headed Behemoth's ability activates, allowing me to Special Summon him back to the field in Defense Mode, but with only 1000 Attack and Defense," Keith added as his purple two-headed dragon returned to the field, crossing its wings around him as it power decreased (A: 1500-1000/D: 1200-1000).

"My draw now," Keith said, drawing a card and then picking another card from his hand. "I summon Spear Dragon in Attack Mode."

A blue-and-tan dragon with a spear-shaped nose appeared on the field, wings outspread as if ready to strike (A: 1900/D: 0).

"And next I activate Rush Recklessly, giving Spear Dragon 700 extra Attack," Keith added as his blue dragon was surrounded by a white aura (A: 1900-2600).

"And I also switch Twin-Headed Behemoth to Attack Mode."

His purple dragon stood up, spreading its wings and snarling.

"Now, Spear Dragon, attack Clausolas," Keith ordered; his dragon flew into the air.

"I activate my Trap, Dimensional Prison," Celina began, pressing a button on her duel disk.

"And I activate Royal Decree to negate the activation of all Traps but itself," the U.S. Duel Champion added and Celina swore as her card became useless and Spear Dragon continued with its attack. It shot forward so rapidly, it was a blur until it crashed into Clausolas, causing the machine bird to be ripped to pieces.

**Keith: 8000**

**Celina: 7700**

"And it's now switched to Defense Mode because it attacked," Keith added as Spear Dragon curled its wings around itself upon returning to his side of the field.

"And now, Twin-Headed Behemoth, attack Celina directly." His purple dragon roared, unleashing a burst of purple energy that struck the duel disk she used to shield herself.

**Keith: 8000**

**Celina: 6700**

"Celina is already down by almost 2000 Life Points. While it's not much damage, every Life Point still counts and Keith is certainly continuing to show us why he is champion," Elizabeth commented.

**. . .**

"Celina better get back into this," Slade murmured to Jagger. They had moved to sit in the front row to watch the duel.

"Relax, Slade, if she has our cards, she will make a comeback," Jagger said.

"I hope so. She won't win if she doesn't."

Unbeknownst to them, they were sitting close to a certain white-haired young man who frowned upon hearing his words.

_It wasn't that much damage. And I'm sure she can win on her own,_ Bakura thought, turning his attention back to the duel.

Marik, who had also overheard Slade and Jagger's words, shook his head. "Did they miss the duels that Celina won to get to this point?" he muttered.

"No idea. I'm sure Celina can prove them wrong, though," Bakura said.

**. . .**

Celina took a deep breath. _Great, lost almost 2000 Life Points in just one turn but I suppose it's not as much as it could be, _she thought as Keith signaled the end of his turn (Spear Dragon A: 2600-1900).

"My draw," she said, drawing a card. _I've gotta turn this around somehow, _she thought and then glanced at the card she just drew.

"I activate Allure of Darkness so that I can now draw two cards," she said before doing so. "But now I have to banish one Dark monster in my hand, like my Ally of Justice Rudra." She pocketed the card before holding up another one. "And now I summon Ally of Justice Unlimiter to my field in Attack Mode."

She placed the card on her duel disk and her bug-like machine appeared on the field, the long thin blue saber-like nose pointed at Keith (A: 600/D: 200).

An idea formed in her head and she held out another card. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Clausolas," she said and her bird-like machine reappeared on the field (A: 2300/D: 1200).

"And now I activate the effect of Unlimiter. I can tribute it to double the attack of one Ally of Justice monster that I control, and Clausolas is the only other one I have on the field," Celina said as Unlimiter vanished into the Graveyard and Clausolas was surrounded by a blue aura (A: 2300-4600).

Keith whistled in appreciation. "Not bad," he said.

"And it's gonna get worse for ya," Celina said with a grin. "Clausolas, attack Twin-Headed Behemoth."

With a screech, the bird-like machine shot forward before grasping Keith's behemoth and tearing it to pieces.

**Keith: 4400**

**Celina: 6700**

"Oh, nice comeback by Celina," Bryan said excitedly. "She's knocked the U.S. Champ down by almost 4000 Life Points."

**. . .**

Marik whistled in appreciation. "Not bad, not bad at all. You and he were right, he's definitely gonna have a fight on his hands now," he said.

Bakura nodded in agreement, casting a sidelong glance at the Princetons sitting nearby.

"Well, at least she's starting to give this so-called champion a thrashing," Slade said.

"Well, we'll see if she can keep it up," Jagger said. "After all, Chazz did the same with that Jaden kid and still lost."

"True."

**. . .**

"Wow, your bro's gonna have to make a good comeback, eh?" Jaden said, glancing at Kyle, who shrugged.

"He's only getting started. Still, that was a good move by Celina," he said with a small smile, gazing at the white-haired girl as she signaled the end of her turn (Clausolas A: 4600-2300).

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "You've got a crush on her, don't you?" she said.

Kyle's blush deepened and he looked down timidly but didn't respond.

**. . .**

_Hmm, I'm gonna have to mount a pretty big comeback to even out the scores, _Keith thought, drawing a card and glancing at it. _This can help for now._ "I place this facedown and end my turn," he said, inserting the card into his duel disk.

_Wonder what he has planned?_ Celina thought, drawing a card. "I summon Ally of Justice Reverse Break in Attack Mode," she said.

A machine with a glowing green drill on the front and wires wielding spinning blades jutted out around it (A: 1200/D: 1200).

"Reverse Break, attack Spear Dragon," Celina ordered and her monster immediately surged across the field before its blades sliced the blue dragon into mincemeat.

"Now, Clausolas, attack Keith directly," the Ally of Justice duelist ordered.

"Not so fast. I activate my face-down, Scapegoat!" Keith said, revealing his face-down and four Sheep Tokens appeared on the field; they were pink, orange, red and blue in color (A: 0/D: 0) x4.

_Damn._ "Clausolas, take out one of those Sheep Tokens," the whitenette ordered and her bird-machine shot forward before ripping the red sheep token into pieces.

"I end my turn," she said.

"My turn," Keith said, drawing a card. "And I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in Attack Mode."

He placed the card on his desk and a metallic bipedal dragon with a falcon's head appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1000).

"Horus, attack Reverse Break," Keith ordered and his dragon roared before unleashing a blast of dark flames that enveloped the machine and it shattered into golden pixels.

**Keith: 4400**

**Celina: 6300**

"And I will end my turn, which means I can trade in my Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 for LV6!" Keith added.

His dragon was enveloped by black flames and was then replaced by a larger silvery metallic bipedal dragon with large wings instead of arms; it roared as its wings spread (A: 2300/D: 1600).

_Okay, that's a strong monster,_ Celina thought. _But it has the same strength as Clausolas, so if I can get the right card, I can take it down._

"My draw," she said, drawing a card and looked at it.

_Well, this will definitely work,_ she thought.

"Since all the monsters in my Graveyard are Machine-Type, I can Special Summon Gearspring Spirit from my hand."

A white automaton with two large wind-up keys protruding from its back then floated onto the field, draped in a light purple kimono as it crouched down in Defense Mode (A: 100/D: 100).

"I now activate Gearspring Spirit's effect," Celina went on. "Once per turn, I can target one face-up monster my opponent controls and reduce its Attack Points to zero until the End Phase, which means your Dragon's about to get a whole lot weaker, Keith."

Clearly having chosen Horus as the target for Gearspring Spirit's effect, the robotic Shikigami's eyes glowed before using its power to envelop the Black Flame Dragon in a white light, severely weakening as its Attack was reduced to nothing (A: 2300-0/D: 1600).

"Next, since I still have my Normal Summon, I'll bring out Machine Lord Ür in Attack Mode."

A crimson and gold celestial-like robot soon appeared, hovering next to Celina's two other monsters (A: 1600/D: 1500).

"Now, Clausolas, destroy Horus," Celina ordered and her monster flew forward before clawing at the weakened enemy monster, causing Keith to wince as his Life Points went down.

**Keith: 2100**

**Celina: 6300**

"You're up next, Ür," Celina declared, ordering her next monster to attack. "Oh, and due to its effect, it can't inflict any damage on my opponent when it battles, but I think the fact that it can attack every monster on your field once each kind of makes up for that."

"It can what?" Keith questioned, but soon got his answer when Machine Lord Ür suddenly unleashed three laser beams and obliterated his three remaining Sheep Tokens.

"And I will end with that," Celina said.

**. . .**

"Oh wow, she got him down to almost a quarter of his Life Points. Man, she is good!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Keith'll make a comeback, though," Kyle said confidently.

"Well, let's see what he does next," Kasumi said.

**. . .**

"My turn," Keith said, drawing a card. "First, I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards and then discard two." He did so before adding, "And next I activate Snatch Steal to take control of Gearspring Spirit."

Gearspring Spirit struggled as it was surrounded by a light before it was forcibly dragged to Keith's side of the field.

"Now, I'll use Gearsping Spirit's effect to target Clausolas and reduce its Attack to zero."

Though it looked a little unhappy to comply, the metallic Shikigami used its ability to zap away all of Clausolas's strength (A: 2300-0/D: 1200).

"And next, I sacrifice Gearspring Spirit to summon Chthonian Emperor Dragon in Attack Mode," Keith added and the Machine on his field vanished to be replaced by a large black, green, and gold winged dragon (A: 2400/D: 1500).

"Then I'll activate Double Summon so that I can Normal Summon a second time this turn, but rather than summon a new monster, I'll use it to Gemini Summon Emperor Dragon as an Effect Monster."

The regal dragon on the field let out a roar as a red aura surrounded him and his true power was unleashed.

"And get this: his newfound effect lets him attack twice during the same Battle Phase," Keith grinned while Celina's eyes went wide, realizing that meant trouble for both of her monsters.

"Go, Chthonian Emperor Dragon! Attack both of Celina's monsters!" the Dragon duelist commanded.

"Oh boy." Celina braced herself as the fiend lashed out, firing off two blazing-hot fireballs in rapid succession that soon smashed into Clausolas and Machine Lord Ür, causing them to burst into thousands of pixels while Celina lost 3200 Life Points in all.

**Keith: 2100**

**Celina: 3100**

"And I will end with that," Keith said.

**. . .**

"Nice comeback," Atticus said with a nod.

"Celina's still in the lead, but Keith did narrow down the gap a bit with that attack," Alexis agreed.

**. . .**

"My move then," Celina said, drawing a card. "And I activate Card of Sanctity so that we each draw until we're holding six cards." They drew until they had a full hand.

"And now I summon Ally of Justice Core Destroyer in Defense Mode," Celina added, placing the card on her duel disk.

A four-legged gold and silver robot with only a mechanical red eye for a face appeared on the field (A: 1200/D 200).

"And then I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Royal Decree before placing two cards facedown and ending my turn," Celina said.

A mini tornado spun across the field to send Royal Decree flying into the air before a vertical facedown card appeared on the field.

"My draw," Keith said, drawing a card before pointing to Celina's lone monster. "I'll have Chthonian Emperor Dragon attack your Core Destroyer."

The moment the Dragon let loose a blast of fire from his mouth with the intent to blast away the Ally of Justice monster clear off the field, Celina acted quickly by pushing a button on her duel disk.

"I activate my face-down card, the Continuous Trap, DNA Transplant!" she exclaimed, one of her facedown cards springing upwards. "As long as this card's on the field, the Attribute of all face-up monsters will become which ever one I declare, and I'm picking Light!"

Thanks to the power of Celina's Trap, both monsters on the field momentarily glowed gold as their Attributes changed to Light.

"Ally of Justice Core Destroyer's effect now activates," Celina went on. "When it does battle with a Light-Attribute monster, that monster is instantly destroyed at the start of the Damage Step, without applying any damage calculation."

Since there was no taking back Chthonian Emperor Dragon's attack now, Keith could only watch as Core Destroyer fired off a blue laser beam from its tail in retaliation that not only caused the fireball headed its way to explode, but also Emperor Dragon himself when the deadly beam struck him afterwards.

"Damn… Well, I'll admit you got me there, Celina," Keith admitted with a slight chuckle. "I really thought I had this duel won for a second."

"Hey, you're not the only one who's going all out today, you know," the white-haired girl giggled.

"That's what I like to hear," her opponent grinned before switching over to his second Main Phase. "In that case, I'll set this monster in facedown Defense Mode, and then I'll place three cards facedown and end my turn."

One horizontal and three vertical facedown cards appeared at Keith's feet as his turn came to a close.

Celina drew a card. "I activate my other face-down, Escape from the Dark Dimension to Special Summon the Ally of Justice Rudra I removed from play back when I played Allure of Darkness," she said and a bug-like blue and white machine then appeared (A: 1900/D: 1200).

"And after switching Core Destroyer into Attack Mode, I'll then activate Book of Taiyou to flip your facedown monster into Attack Mode," she added and the card flipped up to reveal a purple haired pale-skinned woman wielding a staff topped by a crescent and dressed in a blue and red robe (A: 300/D: 400).

"Since Magician of Faith was flipped face-up, her effect activates, which lets me take a Spell Card in my Graveyard and add it back to my hand," Keith explained before retrieving Snatch Steal from his Grave, briefly showing it to his opponent for verification.

"That won't matter much if you can't get past this round, which may very well be the case seeing how Rudra gains 700 Attack when it battles a Light monster," Celina pointed out. "Now, Rudra, attack Magician of Faith!"

"Sorry, but that's not gonna happen," Keith suddenly interjected. "I activate my Draining Shield Trap Card, which not only negates your monster's attack, but also increases my Life Points equal to its Attack Points."

When Rudra shot forward to attack, it ended up coming in contact with a green force field, preventing it from reaching Magician of Faith while also converting its Attack into Life Points for Keith.

**Keith: 4000**

**Celina: 3100**

"Core Destroyer can still attack, though," Celina brought up before ordering her second monster to attack Keith's monster.

Due to Core Destroyer's effect, Magician of Faith was instantly destroyed before damage calculation was applied, which means that Keith lucked out and didn't lose any Life Points from that battle, though he was officially fresh out of monsters now.

"I set one card and end my turn," Celina finished, another reverse card appearing at her feet.

"Which means it's my turn now. I draw," Keith declared before doing exactly that.

"First, I'll start out by summoning my second Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in Attack Mode," Keith said, placing the card on his duel disk and his bipedal dragon returned to the field with a roar (A: 1600/D: 1200).

Celina frowned, wondering what Keith had planned.

Keith smiled and then held up a card. "And next I activate the Spell Level Up!" he declared, holding out the card.

Celina's eyes widened.

"Now, I can level up my Horus the Black Flame Dragon from LV4 to LV6," Keith added as his dragon vanished to be replaced by the much larger version from earlier in the duel (A: 2300/D: 1600).

Though Keith's monster was certainly formidable, the Machine duelist calmed down when she remembered that her Ally of Justice monsters' effect made it so they still had the upper hand since DNA Transplant was currently making all monsters on the field Light-Attribute.

However, what Keith did next quickly disrupted her wishful thinking.

"Next, next I activate Snatch Steal to take control of your Core Destroyer!"

Just like that, Core Destroyer was—as the Spell's name implied—snatched up from Celina's field and transferred over to her opponent's, making her curse under her breath a little.

"Now, Core Destroyer, attack Rudra," the U.S. Duel Champion ordered and his stolen monster fired off its blue death ray that instantly incinerated its former ally. Escape from the Dark Dimension went to the Graveyard along with it.

"Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6, attack Celina directly," Keith commanded and his dragon roared as he began to go on the attack.

"I activate my face-down card, Call of the Haunted, to Special Summon Ally of Justice Rudra back from my Graveyard in Attack Mode!" Celina quickly shouted before her Trap took effect and returned her bug-like Machine to the field (A: 1900/D: 1200).

"Horus, stand down." Keith chose to cancel his monster's attack after the forced replay took place, knowing that attacking Rudra would only end up destroying Horus since Rudra gains 700 Attack Points when it battles a Light monster, which Horus technically was at the moment due to Celina's DNA Transplant still being active.

Though he seemed somewhat disappointed, Horus obeyed, the black fire he had been charging up in his mouth quickly dying down.

"I'll place one card facedown and call it a turn."

"My draw," Celina said, drawing a card.

"Since it's now your Standby Phase, Celina, Snatch Steal's additional effect grants you 1000 Life Points," Keith informed the white-haired girl then as her score went up.

**Keith: 4000**

**Celina: 4100**

"Well, isn't that nice?" Celina managed to quip, though, in her book, even compensation like that still didn't quite make up for having her monster taken from her. "Anyway, I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards."

After her Spell resolved and she was granted two additional cards, Celina's eyes began to dance with excitement when she saw that one of them was Overload Fusion.

This was it. This was her chance to turn this duel around.

With her fingers now slightly trembling in anticipation, Celina picked up and the card and inserted it into her duel disk. "I activate the Spell Card, Overload Fusion!" she exclaimed. "With this, I can banish monsters on my field or in my Graveyard to Fusion Summon a Dark Machine-Type Fusion Monster, so by removing the Level six Ally of Justice Clausolas, along with Ally of Justice Reverse Break and Ally of Justice Unlimiter, from play I'll now call forth Ally of Justice Decisive Armor in Attack Mode!"

The three aforementioned monsters briefly appeared on the field before a cloud of smoke crackling with red lightning completely enveloped them. Moments later, out of the smoke then emerged a gargantuan gold and blue armored robot that looked more like a giant floating fortress. Decked out with a massive plasma cannon on its back and two slightly smaller cannons for arms, this new monster definitely looked like a killing machine (A: 3300/D: 3300).

The crowd murmured to each other, eyeing the new monster in surprise and awe.

**. . .**

"That is an awesome monster," Jaden said.

Raiden nodded in agreement.

"Not bad," Chazz said.

"Keith's in trouble now," Kyle said.

**. . .**

Slade and Jagger exchanged glances, vaguely impressed.

Marik whistled. "That is a cool monster. Keith's definitely in trouble now," he said.

Bakura nodded in agreement. _You really do have what it takes to be a champion, _he thought with a soft smile.

**. . .**

"How do you like my real ace monster, Keith?" Celina inquired, practically beaming with pride now. After all, it wasn't everyday she managed to summon it out.

"It really is something else…" Keith breathed as he stared up at the new monster in awe.

Celina giggled. "I'm glad you like it, but you haven't seen anything yet," she said. "Since there are Light monsters on your field, I'm able to use one of Decisive Armor's effects."

"'One' of them?" Keith echoed. "How many does it have, exactly?"

"Well, there happen to be three, but I'm go with its second effect for this turn," the Machine duelist informed him. "So now, by sending one card in my hand to the Graveyard—" she paused as she discarded her Battle Fader—"I can now destroy every Spell and Trap Card on your field!"

After that declaration, Decisive Armor began to charge up its two arm cannons in order to take out Keith's entire back row.

"If that's the case, then I activate my face-down, Emergency Provisions," Keith said, revealing one of his facedown cards. "By getting rid of my other two face-downs and Snatch Steal, I regain 3000 Life Points."

The moment when Decisive Armor finally fired off its lasers, three out of the four Spell and Trap Cards were already sent to the Grave due the effect of Keith's Spell, and only Emergency Provisions was destroyed, but not before increasing his Life Points by a considerable amount.

**Keith: 7000**

**Celina: 4100**

Since Core Destroyer was no longer equipped with Snatch Steal, it returned to Celina's side of the field, leaving Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 as Keith's lone card on the field now.

"You're lucky you managed to buff up your Life Points, because you're defiantly going to need them right now," Celina said before taking the last card in her hand and placing it on her duel disk. "I now summon Ally of Justice Garadholg in Attack Mode."

An android-like monster covered in orange white metal appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 400).

"Now, Rudra, attack Horus," Celina ordered. "And don't forget, when Rudra battles a Light monster, it gains 700 during the Damage Step only."

Her monster shot forward before its claws glowed green as its strength was temporally elevated to 2600. It then slashed through Keith's dragon, causing him to shatter (Rudra A: 2600-1900).

**Keith: 6700**

**Celina: 4100**

"And now I'll have Core Destroyer, Garadholg, and Decisive Armor all attack you directly!"

Her three remaining monsters then sprang into action, each going after Keith. Core Destroyer galloped into him while Garadholg punched the Dragon duelist with one of its robotic fists. Decisive Armor was the last to attack, and its assault was by far the most devastating. It unleashed a brilliant blast of plasma out of the giant cannon on its back, its power so great that it nearly shook the whole arena to its core when it finally hit its intended target.

**Keith: 600**

**Celina: 4100**

Everyone gasped as Keith, who had been knocked down from the backlash of that last attack, pushed himself to his feet.

"Wow, Celina is really taking it to Keith. One more attack like that and she'll be the new U.S. Duel Champion," Elizabeth gasped.

"You okay?" Celina asked her opponent, wondering if she had overdone things a little there.

"Yeah, I'm good," Keith assured the whitenette with a nod.

**. . .**

"Wow, Keith's really in danger now," Marik whistled. "She is good."

Bakura nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but I'm sure Keith's got some tricks up his sleeve," he said.

"She's got this duel won," Slade murmured to Jagger.

"That's supposing she doesn't screw up on her next turn," Jagger murmured back. "But it does look like she's won."

**. . .**

"Anyway, since I'm out of things to do now, I'll end my turn," Celina said.

"I draw," Keith said, drawing a card before smiling after seeing what it was.

"You did a good job, Celina, but I'm afraid that this duel is over," he said, holding out a card. "I activate the Spell Card, Dragon's Mirror. By removing five Dragons in my Graveyard in my Graveyard from play, I can now Fusion Summon Five-Headed Dragon!"

Like in his duel with Marina, a large, ornate mirror with a frame that resembled a dragon appeared seconds before ghostly versions of Twin-Headed Behemoth, Spear Dragon, Chthonian Emperor Dragon, and two Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4's flew out of Keith's Graveyard and disappeared into the mirror.

After a bright light shown from within the looking glass, the enormous multi-headed Dragon took the field with a mighty roar erupting from each of its five throats (A: 5000/D: 5000).

"And there it is: Keith's Five-Headed Dragon, the very same monster he used to achieve victory in his last duel," Bryan commented upon seeing the newly played monster. "Will he be able to pull off a repeat performance?"

"Your dragon certainly is strong, Keith, but even if it attacks one of my monsters, I'll still have Life Points left," Celina pointed out. _And then on my next turn, I'll be able to destroy it with Core Destroyer's effect and then attack directly with one of my other monsters,_ she added to herself.

"I don't think that'll be the case after I activate this," Keith grinned, revealing the last card in his hand to be Megamorph.

"No way…Megamorph?" Celina felt herself go slightly numb after that, realizing what was coming next.

"That's right," Keith nodded as he inserted the card into his duel disk. "I equip Five-Headed Dragon with this Spell, which will double his original Attack as long as my Life Points are lower than yours."

With another ferocious roar, Five-Headed Dragon's Attack Points suddenly skyrocketed (A: 5000-10000/D: 5000).

The entire audience gasped in awe at the Keith's powered up monster.

"10, 000?!" Jaden exclaimed.

"That's a lot," Kyle agreed.

"Let's go, Five-Headed Dragon! Attack Decisive Armor and end this duel!" the U.S. Duel Champion commanded.

More than happy to oblige, the dragon's five heads each let loose a blast of elemental energy from their jowls, all of which converged on their way to their target, creating one giant multi-colored ball of fire. The blast then smashed into Decisive Armor with a nearly ear-deafening bang, causing the massive Machine monster to blow to a million fiery bits as Celina took a whopping 6700 points of damage, blowing her off of her feet in the process.

**Keith: 600 WINNER**

**Celina: 0**

"And there you have it, folks," Jackson shouted. "Your winner and still the United States Duel Champion, Keith Rhodes!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd as the holograms vanished and Keith waved at the crowd before walking over to join Celina. "Good duel, Celina, you really almost had me there," he said, holding out a hand to her.

She looked up and took his hand. "Thanks," she said, pulling herself to her feet. She smiled before adding, "Rematch, sometime?"

Keith grinned. "Anytime, Celina, anytime," he said.

**. . .**

Slade scoffed. "I knew she wouldn't win. She made the same mistake as our foolish former brother. If she had used our cards toward the end when she had Keith on the ropes, she would have won," he said.

"Just as foolish as Chazz had been," Jagger said as he and Slade stood up and walked toward Celina as she left the dueling platform.

Bakura watched them go with a worried frown before he also got to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Marik asked.

"Something's up," Bakura said quietly before he slipped out of the stands and walked after the Princetons.

**. . .**

Celina watched as Keith remained on the dueling platform, talking with Jackson about the duel, before she spotted the Princetons walking over to join her.

"You lost," Slade said shortly.

"I did my best, though," Celina said with a shrug. "He was just the better duelist, I guess. And I almost had him." She had been very close and, while she wasn't a sore loser, she still couldn't help but feel upset because she knew that if she had lasted one more turn, she would have won.

"You would've won had you used our cards. We told you this would happen," Jagger said. "You made the same foolish mistake as our former brother and you lost the duel."

"So? I'm still in the World Championship Tournament. I don't see what the big deal about me losing is," Celina said.

"I've already said this before but I will say it again. In our books, second place is not good enough. We took you under our wing in the hope that you could be a champion, but when you got the chance to become champion, you screwed it up!"

"And all because you wouldn't use the cards we were giving you," Slade added.

"I wanted to try to win on my own," Celina objected.

"Yes, and you lost, just as we thought you would," Jagger snapped. "We knew you wouldn't be able to last against Keith on your own because you never would've made it this far had it not been for us. If we had not taken you under our wing, you would never have even made it through the first round of this tournament!"

"That's not true," Celina protested. _Is it?_

"It is true," Slade said coolly. "You've failed and we have no time for failures and so we will not keep on sponsoring you."

Celina was shocked. She didn't think that her losing would lose her the mentors who had helped to get her this far in this tournament, or so they said but a part of her believed that. "But…" she began.

"Forget it," Jagger said. "You won't change our mind. You are just like our foolish former brother, a weak, worthless failure."

Celina felt, to her horror, tears begin to appear in her eyes. The word worthless echoed in her head. When she thought it was her fault her parents had abandoned her, she had felt like they didn't think she was worth anything and that was why they left her. When she saw everyone at the orphanage getting adopted when she was little, she had thought no one would ever see her as worth being part of their family.

She was worthless, a worthless failure just like the Princetons said.

Tears slid down her face and she found she couldn't take the glares she was receiving from the Princetons anymore. She turned and bolted from the arena, tears streaming down her face as she ran. In that moment, she completely forgot that there was one person whom did care for her as if she was her own daughter.

**. . .**

Bakura was downright furious as he watched Celina run from the arena, tears streaming down her face while the Princetons watched on, not seeming to care how their words had obviously hurt the white-haired girl. He stalked forward.

"You two are real assholes, you know that," he said quietly, causing the two Princetons to look at him while Marik, who had joined Bakura, glanced at the Occult duelist in surprise. It was rare for Bakura to cuss; actually, Marik couldn't recall a time he had ever heard Bakura cuss.

"Excuse me?" Slade demanded.

"You heard me," Bakura said quietly. "Celina is worth ten of you. She is an amazing duelist whom has proven time and again that she has the potential to be a champion. She dueled with her own cards and with her own skills, rather than with cards that may have won her the duel. She is not worthless and she is not a failure."

"She lost," Jagger said curtly.

"So what? Everyone loses. It's part of the game. No one can be completely undefeated, not even Yugi is undefeated, despite common belief," the Occult duelist said.

"We don't have to listen to this. Celina made her own choice by refusing our help and she lost as a result. She will no longer be sponsored by us. She won't make it long in the pro circuit without our help," Slade said curtly.

"She will make it in the pro-circuit," Bakura said quietly, "because I am going to take her under my wing and try to help her reach her full potential." He brushed past the Princetons and immediately ran in the direction Celina had gone.

**. . .**

Celina sat on the sidewalk, gazing at the distant ocean. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy but she wasn't crying anymore. She remained seated on the ground, her knees brought up to her chest and her chin resting on them. She was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around what the Princetons had just told her.

_I guess they really did only care about my dueling ability,_ she thought.

"Celina?" A quiet voice sounded and Celina turned, surprised when she spotted Bakura standing there.

She quickly wiped her face. "Hey, Mr. Bakura," she said softly.

"Call me Bakura," Bakura said. "May I join you?"

Celina nodded and the white-haired older man sat down beside her on the sidewalk.

"You know what your mentors said to you was wrong, right?" Bakura asked.

Celina said nothing.

"You aren't worthless and you aren't a failure," Bakura said gently, resting a hand on Celina's shoulder.

"But I lost," she whispered.

"So? Didn't I tell you Yugi himself isn't undefeated? You win some, you lose some. That's life. The trick is learning from your mistakes so that you can get better. That's something the Princetons don't seem to understand. They are the kind of people that if you aren't a winner, you're not worth their time. I see the potential in you, though, Celina. Didn't I tell you that you had the potential to be a champion?"

"Well, yeah, but I only got as good as I am because of the Princetons," Celina said.

"I don't believe that," Bakura said with a shake of his head. "Listen, you may have lost today, but that doesn't mean anything. You have the potential to be so much better than you are. Personally, I think the Princetons were holding you back."

"You…you do?"

"Yes. That is why I would like to take you under my wing."

Celina's jaw dropped, shock flaring through her. The duelist she admired the most wanted to take her under his wing? She was speechless, unable to think of anything to say and could only stare in shock at the older whitenette.

"We'll have to figure things out 'cause I do live in Japan and I'm not exactly as rich as the Princetons, so I won't be able to visit every week," Bakura said. "I guess I can talk to your parents or guardians, if you agree, that is."

Celina was still staring in shock.

"Hey, Bakura," Marik said, walking over to join them before he frowned at Celina. "Is she okay?"

"I think she's in shock," Bakura said.

"Y…You would really w…want to take me under your wing?" Celina whispered, finally breaking out of her shock.

"Yes," Bakura said. "If you want some time to think about it, though, I understand."

Celina was silent. To be mentored by the duelist she admired the most? It was like a dream, one she did not want to wake up from. It was an amazing opportunity, but she just didn't know if she could trust Bakura after what happened with the Princetons.

But could she really pass this opportunity up?

"I…I don't know if I'll…be able to trust you after what just happened but I'd…like to give it a shot. I…can't pass up an opportunity like this, I just can't," Celina said.

"Trust is earned, not given," Bakura said, "so I completely understand. I'll need to speak to your parents or guardians, though, since we're going to have to make arrangements and all that."

"Celina!"

"There's my guardian now," Celina said, pushing herself to her feet and Bakura stood up as well before they turned to find Ms. Thomas walking over to join them with Renee, Gabriel, Natalie, and Lisa just behind her.

"We were looking in the arena for you, but Keith said you were out here," Ms. Thomas said before she frowned. "Are you okay? You look like you've been crying."

"I'm okay," Celina assured her as Renee, Gabriel, and Natalie dashed forward and hugged her, congratulating her on the duel and telling her that she would win next year. She just smiled down at them and gently hugged them back. As she gazed at the other foster children as well as up at her foster mother, she realized that she was wrong; there was someone out there who cared for her.

Ms. Thomas cared for her and Renee, Gabriel, Natalie and Lisa all looked up to her as if she was their older sister. They were her family. She really wasn't alone.

She really was worth being part of someone else's family.

_How could I have forgotten that?_ She wondered silently.

Thomas, observing Celina for a moment, turned to look at Bakura and Marik. "Hello, who might you two be?" he said.

"I'm Bakura and this is my friend, Marik," Bakura replied. "It's nice to meet you, Miss…"

"Thomas, but you can call me Bethany. Huh, so you're Bakura," Thomas said with a gentle smile.

"Bakura wants to take me under his wing, Ms. Thomas," Celina said.

"He does? That's amazing. I remember you telling me about how much you admire him. But what happened with the Princetons?"

Celina sighed. "They refuse to mentor me anymore since I lost the duel," she said.

Thomas shook her head. "Just because you lost? That's wrong," she said.

"It is. I, however, see Celina's potential and I want to help her achieve it," Bakura said.

"But I don't know how it would work. I mean, he lives in Japan and, unlike the Princetons, he doesn't have the money needed to visit every week like they did," Celina said.

"To be honest, Celina, this is an opportunity that you simply cannot miss. If you want to go through with this, I can and will help out in any way that I can," Thomas said.

Celina smiled softly at the matron. "Thank you," she said softly and then she looked at Bakura and added, "And thank you, too, Bakura, for giving me this opportunity."

Bakura gave her a soft smile. "You're welcome, Celina," he said softly.

**. . .**

**Ally of Justice Decisive Armor**

10

DARK

Machine/Fusion/Effect

_"1 Level 6 or higher "Ally of Justice" monster + 2 "Ally of Justice" monsters_

ATK: 3300

DEF: 3300

_Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways._ Once per turn, if your opponent controls a face-up LIGHT monster(s), you can activate 1 of these effects: ● Select 1 Set card your opponent controls and destroy it. ● Send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy all Spell/Trap Cards your opponent controls. ● Send all cards in your hand to the Graveyard to look at your opponent's hand and send all LIGHT monsters in their hand to the Graveyard. Then, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the total ATK of the opponent's monsters sent to the Graveyard.

(Stats in italics are those that were changed to turn this monster into a Fusion monster as, as I stated before, it was originally a Synchro monster.)

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and there you have it! The finals of the US Duel Monsters Championship Tournament is done! I hope it was good. And the changed stats are above. Again, I hope you don't mind that it was changed**

**Bakura: hmph, whatever**

**Jaden: I liked it**

**Jesse: it was a cool duel!**

**Blaze: yup and we are on to the second and final arc of this story**

**Bakura: where shit hits the fan basically?**

**Blaze: basically speaking, yes**

**Jaden: so what happens in the next chapter?**

**Blaze: you'll see. As I stated at the beginning of this chapter, the next chapter is called "Prelude to Chaos"**

**Jaden: oh boy**

**Jesse: so, do you got a question for today?**

**Blaze: I do…somewhere**

**Yami: (walks into room and holds up piece of paper) you left it in the living room**

**Blaze: whoops**

**Yami: (sighs) today's question is: Of the three Dimension Dragons that have been revealed in **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V**_**, which one is your favorite? If there is more than one, or you like all three, then just name them in the order that you like them. If you can't decide that, simply say so. Blaze's favorite is Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon coming in at second and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon as third.**

**Blaze: Yuto's Dragon is just awesome!**

**Jesse: but you don't know anything about Yuri's Fusion dragon, do you?**

**Blaze: no, that'll be revealed later on in the series I assume**

**Bakura: yeah, yeah, so are you gonna end the chapter now?**

**Blaze: you look bored (hands Bakura sledgehammer) go smash things**

**Bakura: (takes sledgehammer, grins and goes to go smash things)**

**Yami: I'm getting out of here before Bakura gets me into trouble with Kaiba again (takes off)**

**Blaze: (chuckles) well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will be posted either next Sunday or Monday and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	7. Prelude to Chaos

**Well, it's almost one in the morning but hey, I'm updating on one of the days I said I would update so I'm happy!**

**Anyway, thank you to **_**DarkZorua100, Kamen Rider Sting, decode9, SuperNeos2, StrawHatLuffy94, EndlessNight025, iloveyugiohGX93, a1993, Lightclaw's Shadow **_**and **_**Sorcerer of the Stories**_** for reviewing the last chapter. I'm glad you liked it.**

**Also, as usual, thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader.**

**Okay, so here is the first chapter of part two where basically things start to go downhill and I definitely had fun writing from the perspective of a crazy psychopath, heehee. Anywho…**

**Here is chapter 7 and I hope that you enjoy it. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**7**

**Prelude to Chaos**

The sky was cloudless and a deep, pale blue. The sun hung like a locket above the horizon, gradually crawling toward its zenith. The airport was as crowded as usual with people running back and forth attempting to grab their luggage or stay together with whoever they came with. Children ran around laughing, adults chattered with each other as they walked; it was a normal day in the busy Honolulu International Airport.

Gliding though the shadows of the airport, Kaage Naka watched with disinterest at the various people crowding the area. Worthless people who knew nothing of what was coming and knew nothing of how their inane chattering was grating on his nerves. His wild dark green eyes scanned the area, looking for two specific people whom he had contacted soon after he woke up. After all, he wanted the endgame of his little game to be spectacular and memorable, and he needed the money to do it.

'_It is a no wonder why my former ally wished to get rid of these irritating little humans, granted it was not for the same reason as I,_' Dark Shadow's voice whispered in the back of Kaage's mind as he glided over to the doors that allowed a better view of who was coming in and out of the airport.

As the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament had only ended the day before, the airport was crowded with visitors who were preparing to head home. Kaage had only just recently arrived, having decided to wait just a little bit longer before leaving Florence. He didn't want anything to do with the tournament and he wanted the little monster and his family and friends to be lulled into a false sense of security before he struck.

He may have left that warning, but he knew that Kaede Yuki would not take it seriously. After all, what kind of person would warn the ones they sought revenge against? The answer would be no one. No one would believe Izumi Yuki's warning, therefore leading to them being lulled into a false sense of security and being unprepared for when Kaage struck.

_Catching the little monster and his family and friends by surprise was going to be oh so fun._

'_Indeed_ _it will. Have you decided on who you shall target?_' Dark Shadow murmured, though, personally, he didn't understand Kaage's logic but decided that there was no point in pointed that fact out.

_Not yet. I must first figure out who is with him. I do not wish to take out all of them. I want witnesses for what I have planned for the little monster after I get bored with my little mind games, _Kaage thought.

Dark Shadow snickered in the back of his mind. '_You_ _are a much better host than my last one,_' he murmured.

Kaage rested his back against the wall near one of the doors, his eyes scanning the area. Finding out the little monster and his friends and family were in Honolulu wasn't that hard; the link Dark Shadow still had with one of his last host's cards was still intact. It had been finding Izumi Yuki that had been really hard, but he had managed it. Another reason why he had decided to target Izumi Yuki first was to insure that the key instruments to make his endgame memorable were completed by the time he arrived in Honolulu.

Plus, terrifying Izumi Yuki in a way he had not been able to do the last time they met was entertaining.

The little monster wasn't the only one whom he wanted revenge against, after all.

He was going to have fun, lots of fun, before he finally killed the little monster.

He spotted the two people he had been looking forward and immediately glided toward them, moving soundlessly as he walked, something he had learned from Dark Shadow. He could do so many things with Dark Shadow's powers, powers that he had thought were sealed away when the Millennium Items were sealed over ten years earlier. It was why he had only ever done fake Shadow Duels; he couldn't do real ones because he didn't think it was possible to use the Shadows anymore.

At least until he met Dark Shadow and was given the Shadow Charm.

"Mr. Naka," one of the two men he came to a stop in front of said.

"That would be me. Come, let us speak in private. Perhaps someplace where it is less likely we will be overheard," Kaage said coolly.

"Fine. We'll go back to our hotel room and speak there," the second man said.

"Good."

Kaage trailed after the two men as they led the way back outside the airport and toward the limo that was parked outside. He climbed inside after the two men before leaning back into the leather seat as the two men told the driver to start moving.

He knew that the only reason the two men in front of him agreed to help him was because Kaage had lied to them, telling them that what he had planned was going to bring in a lot of money for them and help them to achieve their goal for world domination. They were stupid enough to fall for it; their greed and their desire for world domination made them completely blind to the fact that Kaage had been lying through his teeth.

Either that or he was a better liar than he thought he was.

Or it could be both.

Kaage had discovered these two men when he was discovering all he could about the little monster, in particular his dueling style so that he could know and understand his dueling style and be able to overcome and defeat him when he finally got to his endgame. It had been Dark Shadow who suggested he do that, saying that the little monster was a tough and unpredictable opponent; the more Kaage knew about him, the more likely he will be able to defeat him. So he had attempted to find out what he could; the only thing he had found out was the School Duel and that was how he found out about the two men seated in front of him.

Long story short, once he mentioned the little monster as well as how he could help the two men achieve world domination—though he was lying through his teeth. There was no way he would help these idiots achieve world domination—they had been quick to agree to help him.

About twenty minutes later, the limo had arrived outside the hotel and the two men climbed out of it with Kaage following them as he led the way into the hotel. He fingered the necklace of diamond-shaped crystals hanging around his neck as he walked. The only other thing he had, besides a small bag containing a few clothes, was the duel disk resting on his left arm.

They slipped into the elevator and rode it to the top floor of the hotel.

The two men led the way into the hotel room and the first one turned to look at Kaage. "We did as you said," he said. "We just got confirmation that the arena is completed, though I'm still not sure why you wanted it to be so out of the way."

"Can't reveal all my plans, now can I?" Kaage said emotionlessly.

"I suppose not. Still, are you going to go through with your end of the deal?" the second man asked.

Kaage fingered the crystals that hung around his neck as he gave them a cruel little smirk before he held out his arm; his duel disk whirred to life and the Shadow Charm around his wrist glowed brightly, enveloping the room in a dark golden light.

"I believe, Mr. and Mr. Princeton, that it is time we renegotiated our deal," Kaage said.

**. . .**

The bad feeling was getting stronger. There was no doubt about that and Jaden still had no idea why he was feeling like this. He knew that Yubel was feeling the same way and even Raiden looked uncertain. "I don't like this, Rai," Jaden said quietly to his brother as he leaned against the railing on the balcony. "I don't know why I'm having this bad feeling, but it won't go away."

"I know, Judai," Raiden said. "And I wish I could say that it's probably nothing, but…I just don't know if it is nothing."

Jaden sighed. "After what happened with the Shadow Riders, I'm just not sure I should ignore these bad feelings," he said quietly.

"I know. C'mon, everyone else is going to the beach. Maybe that'll take your mind off this feeling of yours," Raiden said.

Jaden opened his mouth to protest.

"I'm not saying forget it, Judai," Raiden said immediately. "I just mean that we shouldn't let it bother us right now. We can't do anything about it until we know what it's warning us about, or if it's just our fears playing with our mind. I know you've been having nightmares again, Judai."

"I don't know why I've been having these nightmares, Rai," Jaden said. "They stopped after I told you everything."

"Just because they stopped doesn't mean they actually went away. I doubt you can just talk about what happened and never think about what happened ever again or never have nightmares over what happened, especially not about something as traumatic as what you experienced, Judai."

"You sound like a therapist, Rai," Jaden said with a smile.

Raiden chuckled. "Well, I'm considering being a therapist if I don't make it as a pro duelist," he said brightly.

"Better than a professional surfer. You wouldn't make it far then."

Raiden smacked his shoulder with a scowl but Jaden just laughed.

"C'mon, Rai, I think you're right. I need to get my mind off my nightmares and this feeling. Seeing you wipe out several times would be the perfect way to do that," Jaden said.

"I've been getting better," Raiden protested, following Jaden as he led the way out of the hotel room.

"I guess. You only wipe out half the time now."

Raiden scowled. "You're annoying," he said.

"I'm your little bro. It's my job to be annoying," Jaden said with a smirk and immediately dashed away before his brother could get him in a headlock like the last time he had said that.

Raiden immediately dashed after him.

Jaden nearly crashed into Chazz as he ran down the hallway, but the black-haired Ojama duelist managed to jump out of the way in time. "Geez, watch where you're going," he said.

"Sorry, Chazz," Jaden said brightly.

"Got ya!" Raiden said and immediately grabbed Jaden in a headlock.

"Ow! Let me go! Rai!" Jaden cried, struggling to break free from his brother's grasp.

"Promise not to annoy me for the rest of the trip," Raiden said firmly.

"Fine, fine, I promise, just let go," Jaden whined.

Yubel and Haou were laughing hysterically in the back of his head.

Raiden released Jaden, who pouted as he rubbed his neck.

Chazz rolled his eyes, secretly jealous about the relationship Raiden and Jaden had. He would never admit it out loud but he wished he could have had the kind of relationship Raiden and Jaden had with his own brothers.

A little while later, Kasumi, Alexis, and Arina joined them in their bathing suits with their beach towels wrapped around them. "Where's Kyle? And Atticus?" Alexis asked curiously as Jaden wandered over to her and hugged her.

"No idea," Raiden said with a shrug. "We just left our room now."

Keith walked over to join them with Kyle just behind him. "I still say you should've asked Celina if she wanted to come with us," Keith was saying.

"She looked busy," Kyle said.

Keith rolled his eyes and the gang began making their way toward the elevator, which they rode to the lobby. Kaede was there, talking with Matt and Emily and he looked up as the gang walked over to join them.

"Heading to the beach?" he asked.

"Yup. I'm looking forward to finally learning how to surf," Raiden said.

"Wipe out more gracefully is more like it," Jaden said brightly.

"Atticus said it takes time," Raiden said. "Speaking of him, where is he?"

"He was already gone when Keith and I left," Kyle said.

"Mom won't be happy if we lose him again," Alexis commented.

"He actually already left for the beach," Matt said. "He got tired of waiting for you guys."

"Oh."

"Kyle, wait," a voice called and the group turned to find Celina jogging toward them, her white hair in a ponytail and dressed in a blue two-pieced swimsuit with her beach towel wrapped around her. "Can I go with you?"

"Uh, sure," Kyle said, blushing and looking everywhere but at the white-haired girl.

"I thought you were busy," Keith said.

"I got bored. Bakura and Ms. Thomas told me that they'll handle everything that needs to be done so that I can go live in Japan," Celina said.

"Why're you moving to Japan?" Kyle asked curiously.

Celina sighed sadly. "The Princetons are no longer my mentors. They said that they didn't want to mentor me anymore because they see me as a failure," she said.

"Assholes," Jaden growled.

"Lousy scrubs," Chazz muttered at the same time.

"But Bakura's taking me under his wing. He's not a rich as the Princetons, though, so we're trying to make it so I can live in Japan. That way it'll be easier for him to be my mentor," Celina added.

"You're actually gonna be mentored by the duelist you like the most? That's awesome," Kyle said.

"It is an amazing opportunity. Aren't we heading to the beach, though?"

The gang nodded and left the hotel.

**. . .**

Kaage hummed quietly as he walked out of the hotel, fingering two crystals that hung around his neck and were glowing with a faint inner golden light. _Now what to do? What to do?_ he thought as he wandered away from the hotel.

'_Do you wish to attract the boy's attention? Or do you wish to have some fun before you do that?_' Dark Shadow murmured in the back of Kaage's mind.

_Eventually, I will attract the little monster's attention. He knows my name because I had introduced myself by name when I attacked his mother, probably not one of my better plans, so that will work in attracting his attention. Until then, though, I think I will just find him and watch him, learn what I haven't been able to learn since waking up and then go from there,_ Kaage thought.

'_Be careful, though. The boy was able to figure out that I was watching him when I last faced him, so I have no doubt he will be able to notice now if you get too close. I believe it is because he is sensitive to the Shadow Magic within a Shadow Charm,_' Dark Shadow said.

_Possibly. I will stay a safe distance away, though, once I find him. For now, best not attract attention to myself,_ Kaage thought as he wandered toward downtown Honolulu.

**. . .**

Celina relaxed on her beach towel, sunglasses resting on her face and her skin covered with sunscreen. She did burn easily, but, thankfully, she always kept strong enough sunscreen to prevent that from happening.

"Whoa! Another wipeout!" Jaden said, looking at the ocean where his brother had just wiped out while attempting to surf with Kyle and Atticus attempting to help him learn.

Kasumi sat down beside Celina, who had been introduced to everyone when they arrived at the beach. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Celina said with a small smile.

"That was a good duel between you and Keith. Your monsters are cool," Kasumi said. _Though I'd probably have a hard time beating that deck with mine,_ she mused silently.

Celina smiled. "Yeah, I've always been a big fan of Machine-type monsters, though I'm not entirely sure why, though I really do like Dragons, too," she admitted.

"That's cool."

Celina fell silent and then decided that since Kasumi was being friendly, she may as well find something to talk about to pass the time. "So what kind of deck do you use?" she asked.

"Lightsworn," Kasumi said.

"A self-milling deck? Nice."

"It was tough for me to get the hang of it. I actually kept decking out at first, but I managed to learn a few tricks to prevent that from happening," Kasumi said.

Celina nodded. "It always takes people time to get used to whichever deck they're using. What decks do you guys use?" she asked, directing the question at the others that were sitting around her.

"I use Cyber Girls and Cyber Angels," said Alexis.

"I use Fairies," Arina said.

"I use…way to go, Raiden! Two wipeouts in a row! That's gotta be a new record for you!" Jaden shouted toward the ocean as Raiden, who had surfaced from his most recent wipeout, swam to within earshot, dragging the surfboard behind him.

Raiden flipped him off for that, which only caused Jaden to chuckle.

"I use Elemental and Evil Heroes, mostly," he said in answer to Celina's question.

"Evil Heroes?" she echoed. "I've never heard of those."

"They're one of a kind."

"Oh. What about you?" Celina asked, turning to Raiden, who plopped down on his beach towel.

"I use Shadow Reckoners," Raiden said.

"Isn't that the archetype that just came out a few years ago?"

"Yup."

"Nice."

"So decided to take a break from wiping out, Rai?" Jaden asked brightly.

"I'd like to see you do better, Judai," Raiden snorted.

"Judai?" Celina echoed.

"That's Jaden's real name, but he prefers his middle name. Rai's the only one who can call him by his first name," Kasumi explained.

"Oh."

**. . .**

Later that day, the gang found themselves in a restaurant near the hotel. Bakura had joined them as he and Celina were planning on going back to Celina's hotel room to get Celina's stuff afterwards. She didn't want to stay in the same hotel as the Princetons and Bakura had agreed to get her a room for herself. Jaden was excited to be having lunch with a Battle City finalist and would not stop questioning the white-haired man, which caused everyone else to sweatdrop.

"I feel it'd be worse if Yugi was here," Kasumi commented.

Bakura, however, was very patient with Jaden and answered every one of his questions as best he could. Granted, he couldn't tell them much of what happened during Battle City because his memory was spotty at best; he doubted he would ever know what really happened during that tournament.

"I can't believe you actually faced down Slifer. That'd be so awesome," Jaden said.

Raiden chuckled. "Only you would think facing down an Egyptian God card is awesome," he said.

Jaden smirked.

"So, Judai, why don't we give him a chance to breathe and talk about something else?"

"Like what?"

Raiden grinned. "Like how you almost got beat by a ten year old girl," he said.

Celina burst out laughing while Jaden sputtered and glared at Kasumi.

"You told him," he exclaimed.

"I told ya I was never gonna let you live that down," the Lightsworn duelist replied.

"When did this happen?" Chazz wondered.

"It was after you left Academy Island when Kyle transferred," Arina said.

Bakura looked amused. "So what happened?" he asked.

Jaden was red with embarrassment as Kasumi happily began giving Bakura all the details about the duel, including the love-struck Elemental Heroes. By the time she was done, everyone was chuckling and Jaden buried his face in his hands to try to hide his embarrassment.

"Okay, okay, let's talk about something else," Jaden said quickly.

Kasumi pressed her lips together. "Oh, I know. Jay, why don't you tell everyone about how you beat Yugi's deck?" she suggested.

Bakura's eyebrows shot up. "You beat Yugi's deck?" he repeated.

Jaden grinned at the memory. "Hell yeah. That was an awesome duel. Granted, I'm not entirely sure I could actually beat Yugi himself, but beating his deck was awesome," he said and immediately launched into the story. He told them about how Dimitri had stolen the deck and how he had dueled Dimitri in order to get it back and won.

Chazz scowled. "Why did all the good stuff happen _after_ I left?" he complained.

Arina patted his arm, but otherwise said nothing.

"Beating Yugi's deck is quite the accomplishment," Bakura said. "I think I'll let him know that. I'm pretty sure Yugi will want to duel you himself when he finds out."

Jaden's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Me duel the King of Games? Sweet!"

The waitress came by to get their orders at that moment.

"What else happened after I left?" Chazz asked, curious despite himself, as the waitress left.

"Well, there was that incident with the dueling monkey," Kasumi commented.

"Dueling monkey?" Celina repeated.

"Yup." Kasumi launched into the tale of the duel and could not help but tease Jaden about how he had been getting beat by a monkey at the beginning of the duel. Jaden was red with embarrassment again while Raiden was laughing hysterically.

"You were getting beat by a monkey!" he gasped.

"I won," Jaden muttered.

Alexis patted his arm. "We know, but it's still funny," she said.

"Let's see. Well, there was that duel with that idiot Harrington," Kasumi commented, going on with what happened after Chazz left.

"Melodramatic idiot," Jaden muttered.

Chazz raised an eyebrow. "You dueled Harrington?" he repeated.

"He got upset because I was talking with Jaden and completely ignoring him," Alexis explained.

"He then had the nerve to challenge me to a duel where the winner would become Alexis's fiancé," Jaden said. "I won, though."

"Aww, Lexi has a fiancé," Atticus said. "When's the wedding? Ow!" He grabbed his shin as an irritated Alexis had kicked him.

"There was also that Duel Giant who kept beating all the Obelisks," Jaden said.

"And Damon who was a pretty good drawer," Kasumi said.

"The Battle Royal was cool," Jaden said.

"You told me about that at the banquet," Celina said. "You went against Arina, Kasumi and one of your friends, Bastion, to see who would duel Chazz at the School Duel."

"Yup. It was a tough duel, especially when Bastion locked down most of my deck," Jaden said. "But I managed to win."

"Ah. What about the Spirit Day? Kyle already told me about his duel against Arina, but were there other duels?" Celina asked.

"Little Mist and I dueled," Raiden said.

"And I dueled Dark Magician Girl," Jaden said.

"You mean someone dressed up as Dark Magician Girl?" Celina asked.

"Sure, let's go with that."

"There was also that duel against Pierre," Alexis commented.

Jaden blushed at the memory. "Yeah, that's when we got together," he admitted.

"What happened?" Kasumi asked.

Alexis told her about the duel and then about how she had just decided to take the plunge and tell Jaden how she felt. "We got together officially after that," she said.

Kasumi smiled. _Wish someone out there cared about me like that, but it's doubtful anyone could love a freak like me the way Jaden loves Alexis, _she thought sadly. Despite her friends accepting her gift, she still couldn't help but see herself as a freak. Her friends and family didn't know the entire truth.

The food arrived at that moment and Jaden happily fell on it like a starving lion, which caused everyone else to just shake their heads in exasperated amusement.

Celina frowned. "Where does it all go?" she asked.

"No one knows," Kasumi said with a shake of her head.

"Reminds me of Joey," Bakura commented, eating at a much steadier pace.

After lunch, Celina said her goodbyes to the gang and she and Bakura left the restaurant. "I wonder if I'll ever see 'em again," she said as she and her new mentor headed toward the hotel where she was staying.

"I'm sure you will," Bakura said. "So have you made your decision?"

"What do you mean? I already said I'd like to go to Japan with you."

"That is still your choice to make, Celina. I've talked with Ms. Thomas and we both agreed that if you really want to move to Japan, I'll look after you. Though do you have any family or friends in Japan that you can stay with? If not, I have an extra room at my apartment that you can use," Bakura said.

Celina sighed and shook her head. "I don't even know if I have any family in Japan, or friends for that matter" she admitted sadly. "But I have made my decision. I do want to go to Japan and attend a duel school, and if you don't mind me staying with you…"

"No, I don't mind and I already have your guardian's approval," Bakura said.

Celina smiled. "Then I'll accept that offer, at least until I go to that duel school, if I can anyway but it must cost a lot and I don't have that kind of money," she said.

Bakura smiled. "Don't worry about that, Celina, not only am I sure you can get a scholarship, I can cover any costs if you can't," he said. He may not be rich like the Princetons—that is he did not have enough money to travel from one country to another every week—but that didn't mean he was broke. He did have enough to pay the tuition for Duel Academy for his protégé and, if not, he was sure Marik wouldn't mind helping out as well.

Celina glanced at her new mentor and smiled. "Thank you," she said, surprised by Bakura's generosity.

"You're welcome, Celina."

The two of them entered the hotel before heading toward the elevator and taking it up to the top floor. Celina led the way down the hall, pulling out her keycard as she did so before opening the door.

What she saw inside shocked her to the core.

"Mr. and Mr. Princeton?" she said, stunned, for the Princetons were lying motionless on the ground in the center of the room, a single card resting on them. Their duel disks were on their arms and their cards lay scattered all around them.

"Oh God," Celina gasped as she moved forward and immediately knelt down beside Jagger. "Bakura, call 911."

"Already on it," Bakura said, his cell phone pressed against his ear as he gazed at the two motionless bodies in shock. "Yes, this is Ryou Bakura." He immediately explained what they found while Celina sat back on her heels, confused and concerned.

"I can feel their pulses, but they're slow. They almost seem comatose," she said, looking at Bakura as he closed his phone and slipped it into his pocket.

He walked forward and knelt down beside the figures before he also checked for a pulse, pressing his lips together. "The ambulance is on the way," he said and then frowned before he reached over and picked up the card that had been resting on Slade's chest.

Celina picked up the one on Jagger's and turned it over. She looked at Bakura in confusion. "What card was on Slade?" she asked.

Bakura turned it over and Celina saw that it was the same as the one she held in her hand.

Brron, Mad King of Dark World.

**. . .**

Kaage watched from a safe distance as the ambulance carted the soulless bodies of Slade and Jagger Princeton away from the hotel they were staying in. _It took 'em long enough to find 'em,_ he thought. He rested his hand on the crystals that hung around his neck; now a total of four crystals were glowing with a faint inner golden light.

'_Wonder_ _how long it'll take them to find the other two victims,_' Dark Shadow mused.

_Eventually, they will notice and the news will pick it up. When that happens, I can take the next step of my plan,_ Kaage thought.

'_And_ _have you decided who shall be your first target?_'

Kaage walked down the sidewalk to the hotel in which the little monster and his family and friends were staying. _I was thinking of that little girlfriend of his, _he thought as he had learned a lot about the little monster's friends and family from the time he was spying on them on the beach and in the restaurant earlier. _Hmm, it's doubtful she will willingly want to duel me, though._

'_Then_ _force her,_' Dark Shadow murmured. '_Use_ _someone she loves against her. That brother of hers, for example. If you threaten him, then she will likely be more willing to duel you._'

_Possibly,_ Kaage thought.

He slipped off into the shadows, eyes scanning the area until he spotted a lone woman walking down the street, chatting on her phone; he also noticed that she had a deck box resting on her hip. A duelist.

His lips pulled back into a sinister grin. _Victim number five,_ he thought, gliding after the woman.

**. . .**

"How are they?" Celina asked curiously. She and Bakura were in the waiting room of the hospital closest to the hotel. She may not like the Princetons that much anymore, but that didn't mean she was heartless enough to want them dead or anything like that.

"They are comatose right now," the doctor said quietly. "Physically, they are perfectly healthy but, for some reason, they won't wake up. There also doesn't seem to be any signs of head trauma. We can't seem to find the cause for this. It's baffling. Do you know of anyone we can contact?"

Celina chewed her lip. "Well, there's Chazz," she said. "I don't know his phone number, though, but I know where's he's staying so I can let him know."

The doctor nodded.

"Doctor Senna, we've got another two who are just like the Princetons," one nurse said, running forward.

"Oh dear, are you sure?" Doctor Senna asked, concerned.

"They are both showing the same signs, at least. No visible head trauma, no physical injuries; we've taken them in for an MRI to see if there is any brain trauma," the nurse said.

Doctor Senna nodded. "I have to check on my other patients now," she said and hurried away.

Celina turned to Bakura. "What's going on?" she whispered.

"I wish I knew," Bakura said with a shake of his head. "C'mon, let's go tell Chazz."

"Yeah, he may not like his brothers, but he still deserves to know," Celina said and the two of them left the hospital.

**. . .**

Atticus hummed as he walked toward the hotel. After leaving the restaurant, the gang had decided to go back to the beach and Atticus decided to stay a bit longer to flirt with the pretty girls and to keep on surfing. Then he had decided to just take a walk, but stayed within sight of the hotel so that he didn't get lost.

Suddenly, a scream of pain sounded, causing Atticus to jump and he turned just in time to see a woman in an alley right next to where he was standing fall to the ground, a dark figure standing over her. The dark figure bent down, placed something on the woman's chest and then walked away.

Atticus waited until the guy was out of sight and earshot before he dashed to the woman's side, hoping she was alive. He knelt down beside her and reached out to find a pulse, relieved when he found one, though the woman remained motionless on the ground. It didn't help that cuts and bruises covered her body. She was also surrounded by cards and had a duel disk on her arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" he called, shaking the woman's shoulders but she remained motionless.

Atticus chewed his lip before pulling out his phone, glad he had charged it. His aunt and uncle had made sure he knew all the emergency numbers to call in case anything happened, since they were different in America than they were in Japan. He dialed 911 and waited.

"911, what is your emergency?" the female voice on the other end said.

"_Hello, this is_…sorry, this is Atticus Rhodes," Atticus said, accidentally starting to talk in Japanese before remembering where he was. "I found this woman unconscious in an alley. She won't wake up."

"I see, and where are you, Mr. Rhodes?"

Atticus walked to the mouth of the alley and gave them a rough idea of where he was before he returned to the woman's side when the operator told him that they were sending help.

"Thanks," he said into the phone and hung up before slipping it into his pocket. He gazed at the card that was resting on the girl's chest and then reached forward before picking it up, frowning upon seeing it.

Brron, Mad King of Dark World.

_Why would that guy put this card here?_ He thought, dropping the fake card and standing up, ready to head back to the mouth of the alley to keep an eye out for the ambulance the operator said they were sending.

He turned and jumped when he spotted the dark figure from earlier leaning against the wall nearby, watching him. He gripped his phone and looked around, only to realize that the alley he was in was a dead-end. _Wait, how did he get out if it's a dead-end?_ He thought, confused.

The man smirked as he pushed himself away from the wall. "No one can help her, you know," he said coolly.

"What did you do to her?" Atticus demanded, searching for a possible way to get past the man.

The man rested a hand on a necklace of crystals that hung around his neck, five of which were glowing with a faint golden light, and didn't respond. Atticus's eyes widened when he spotted the golden bracelet around the man's wrist with the Eye of Wadjet on it.

Atticus was positive that it was some sort of Shadow Charm.

"Oh man, this isn't good," he whispered, backing up a step as the man approached him. "Stay away from me!" He would fight if it meant he could get away; he did take some self-defense courses, after all.

Sirens wailed and Atticus breathed a sigh of relief. Help was coming.

The man looked up, scowled and then vanished into the darkness.

Atticus relaxed. He didn't know how the man had disappeared, but he was relieved that the sirens had scared him off. Now, I should get back to the hotel, he thought and headed toward the mouth of the alley, only to feel a searing pain in the back of his head.

He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

**. . .**

"What?" Chazz exclaimed.

"It's true. Bakura and I went to go get my things from my hotel room and we found them unconscious in the middle of the room. The doctor, Dr. Senna, said that they were healthy physically but were comatose for some reason," Celina said.

"We also found the same card on each of them; a fake Brron, Mad King of Dark World," Bakura added.

"They were also surrounded by their cards and each had their duel disks on their arms."

"So a duelist did this?" Jaden asked.

"It seems like it," Kasumi said.

"But what kind of duelist can cause someone to fall into a coma?" Celina asked.

Everyone, except Jaden and Raiden, exchanged glances. They didn't know.

Jaden was thinking about what Yubel used to do when he was younger and Raiden was thinking along the same lines, but about a different Duel Monster.

"So, what now?" Chazz asked.

"Are you going to go see them?" Arina asked.

Chazz was silent. "Maybe," he said finally.

"Assholes or not, no one deserves to be in a coma," Jaden said. "I hope they catch the person who did this."

The others nodded in agreement. Most, if not all, of them didn't like Slade and Jagger Princeton, but, as Jaden said, no one deserved what happened to them.

Alexis suddenly looked around. "Hey, guys," she said with a frown.

"What is it, Lex?" Jaden asked.

"Where's Atticus?"

"He said he was going to take a walk when we left the beach," Raiden said.

"Did he get lost again?" Kyle asked.

"I doubt it. He said he was going to stay within sight of the hotel so that didn't happen, but he should've been back by now," Raiden said with a frown.

Alexis pulled out her phone and dialed her brother's number. It rang several times before going to voicemail. "That's odd. Atticus always answers his phone. It didn't go straight to voicemail, so it's not dead," she said after she left a message for Atticus to call her back.

Jaden snaked an arm around his girlfriend's waist, exchanging a concerned look with Raiden. Two people falling into comas after dueling someone, Atticus not answering his phone even though Alexis said he usually does, that bad feeling steadily growing worse…

Something was wrong.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: yes, something is definitely wrong**

**Bakura: no duh**

**Ryou: (raises eyebrow) when did you get back from blowing things up?**

**Bakura: just now**

**Blaze: well, the next chapter is where one of the biggest secrets of this story is revealed**

**Bakura: hmph, whatever (holds of piece of paper) question?**

**Blaze: go ahead**

**Bakura: this is another ARC-V question so Blaze says sorry to those who haven't seen all of ARC-V yet. Today's question is: what is your favorite opening and/or ending theme song from **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V**_**? As of right now, Blaze's two favorites are the opening theme songs **_**Believe x Believe**_** and **_**Burn!**_**, both by Bullettrain.**

**Blaze: they're both very catchy!**

**Jaden: can't argue that**

**Jesse: so, other than a big secret being revealed, what else happens in the next chapter?**

**Blaze: I will tell ya that the title of the next chapter is "Demons of the Past" and I shall say nothing more**

**Bakura: anything else you wanna tell us?**

**Blaze: other than the fact that when I start posting **_**White Radiance,**_** I will also be posting a collection of short stories and oneshots entitled **_**Anthology**_** that will include several short stories and oneshots set in the **_**Shadow Rise**_** Universe along with several other, completely unrelated oneshots and short stories, nope, that is all I gotta say**

**Bakura: great, so end the chapter**

**Blaze: you end it (walks off to go steal Haou's plate of snickerdoodles)**

**Haou: **_**stay away from my snickerdoodles!**_** (Takes off after Blaze)**

**Jaden: (snickers) I'll end the chapter. Blaze really hopes that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	8. Demons of the Past

**Well, this is chapter 8 and, though it is being posted super early again (sorry! I just couldn't wait to get this chapter up!), I hope that you like it and I will warn you now, there is a cliffhanger.**

**Thank you to **_**DarkZorua100, bobmanv2.0, EndlessNight025, iloveyugiohGX93, decode9, Kamen Rider Sting, Lightclaw's Shadow, Lightningblade49, Sorcerer of the Stories, a1993 **_**and **_**StrawHatLuffy94**_ **for reviewing the last chapter. You guys, as always, are the greatest.**

**The next chapter (which will be sent to my beta-reader on Friday because it has a duel in it) will, hopefully, be posted by Sunday. Yes, you will have to wait a week to see what happens but I'm sticking with my 'post one chapter a week' thing (it gives me time to get further in **_**White Radiance**_**).**

**Well, anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**8**

**Demons of the Past**

The following day, there was still no word on where Atticus was. It got to the point that Emily, Matt, and Kaede were out searching for him again. To make matters worse, word of what happened to Slade and Jagger Princeton had reached the news, along with the knowledge that three others had fallen victim to whoever had attacked the Princetons.

"_These five attacks are linked only by the appearance of a single Duel Monsters card on each of the victims; a card known as Brron, Mad King of Dark World. Investigators are attempting to discover the owner of the cards, but there is a lack of fingerprints, nor is there any other evidence that could link the cards to a single person,_" the reporter was saying. She was standing in front of the camera with an ambulance in the background and police man and woman talking with each other and with anyone that may have witnessed what happened.

The gang was sitting in Jaden and Raiden's hotel room, watching the news. It wasn't that late though, only a little after five in the afternoon. They had been watching the reruns of the duels of the quarter finals when the breaking news bulletin had flashed on the screen and this story had come on. Celina was with them; she was gradually integrating herself into the group without even realizing it. Kyle had also asked her if she wanted to join them.

"Man, it seems like it's getting worse," Jaden said softly.

"Do you think it's the same person?" Kasumi asked.

"The card suggests that it is, but it's possible it's more than one person," Raiden said.

"_Detective Storm, do you have any leads on who could possibly be behind these attacks? And do you know whether this is being done by a single person or by a group of people?_" the reporter asked one of the detectives who was working nearby.

"_So far, we have found no leads on who could be behind these attacks,_" Storm said.

"_Surely there is something that you can tell us. The people have the right to know what is happening in our city,_" the reporter said.

The detective sighed. "_The only thing we've discovered is that the cards found at the scene of the crime are all counterfeits, which suggests that the attacker is one person. This is pure speculation, though. We won't have any conclusive evidence until we get everything back from the lab. As of right now, I advise that people stay indoors if at all possible until this attacker, or attackers, is caught._"

"_Unfortunately, that is all we know at this time about these attacks. Back to you, Chloe,_" the reporter said as the detective walked away.

"_Thank you, Breanna,_" the anchorwoman said. "_We will continue to keep you updated on the search for this attacker. Now, back to our regularly scheduled program._" The screen changed back to the quarter finals duel they had been watching.

"I hope Atticus wasn't one of those attacked," Alexis said softly.

"I'm sure he wasn't," Jaden said, hoping he sounded reassuring.

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "I hope so," she said softly.

The door opened and the gang glanced up as Kaede walked into the room.

"Anything?" Jaden asked.

Kaede shook his head. "Matt and Emily are still out looking but I came to give you an update," he said. "I'm going to go back out and help, though."

"Thank you, Mr. Yuki," Alexis said softly.

Kaede nodded. "Keep your phone on, Jaden, and I'll call if we find out anything," he said and left the hotel room.

**. . .**

Kaage chuckled as he watched the news. "This really is fun to watch, don't you think?" he said, looking over his shoulder.

Atticus Rhodes glared back at him, struggling to free himself from the rope that kept him tied to the chair, his mouth was gagged so he couldn't exactly say anything.

"Oh do stop that. You're gonna hurt yourself," Kaage said, smirking. "No matter how fun that would be to watch, I need you in one piece for one of the phases of my plan." He turned to the television screen as it changed to the quarter finals duel it had been on before the breaking news bulletin.

Dark Shadow snickered in the back of Kaage's mind. '_I_ _wonder if little Judai will make the connection between his missing friend and these attacks,_' he said.

_That won't occur until I give him a reason to make such a connection, but I already know how. After all, just dropping my name will be enough, even if it will take him by complete surprise. After all, I am supposed to do be dead, though I do wonder why no one told him what really happened,_ Kaage thought musingly. It helps that this name isn't even my real name, as you know well enough.

Dark Shadow knew that Kaage Naka was the name that Kaage preferred to be called by; he wasn't stupid enough to go by his actual name when he was a fake Shadow duelist nine years ago, after all.

'_Indeed. With it not being your real name, you can drop it and little Judai will know who you are but, at the same time, no one would be able to actually find you since they only know you by your fake name in Japan and no one knows you here. It is rather ingenious,_' Dark Shadow said.

_But of course, I am a genius,_ Kaage thought smugly and cast an exasperated look at Atticus, who was struggling to get free again. "If you don't stop that, I will knock you out again," he said coolly.

"Who the hell are you? And what do you want?" Atticus demanded, having managed to free himself from the gag around his mouth.

Kaage stood up before walking over to kneel in front of Atticus. "You shall see soon enough, Atticus Rhodes. I'm not gonna hurt you much, unless you become too much of an annoyance. You're just the bait," he said.

"The bait? What are you talking about? The bait for who?"

"Your sister."

Atticus's eyes widened and then they flared. "If you lay a hand on my sister, I swear I'll…mmph!" Whatever else he had been about to say was cut off as Kaage refitted the gag, making it a bit tighter so that the boy couldn't get free from it again hopefully.

'_It_ _is going to be so much fun to watch little Judai after we take care of his little girlfriend. Have you decided who else we will target?_' Dark Shadow asked as Kaage returned to his seat in front of the television.

_His brother, his sister, his friends, his father even, oh there are oh so many to decide from! I would just take them all but, as I want witnesses to the little monster's death, I can't take them all, but I know just who to take along with the little monster's girlfriend, _Kaage thought, wild eyes filled with glee as he let out a maniacal laugh.

Atticus, who was watching the man, shook his head as he, again, tried to free himself from the ropes that bound him. _This guy is a psycho,_ he thought. He doubled his efforts to get free. He had to get free and warn his sister that this psycho was going to come after her. At the very least, he had to get to his phone and call the police and tell them what was happening.

His phone was on the nightstand and had been ringing practically nonstop since before Atticus regained unconscious. No doubt his sister and his aunt and uncle were trying to reach him.

But why does he want Alexis? The Red-Eyes duelist thought, looking at the psycho sitting in front of him. And why has he been attacking these people? What did they ever do to him?

He didn't know how long he had been trying to get free from his binds when the psycho suddenly stood up and turned to him. "Did I not just say to stop trying to get free?" he growled, walking forward.

Atticus glared right back at the psycho, trying to kick him but the man just avoided it as he grabbed Atticus's hair and jerked his head up. "Try that again and I will start breaking your fingers," he growled.

_I thought he wanted me in one piece,_ Atticus thought.

The phone started ringing again and the psycho glanced at it before picking it up and hitting the ignore button. While he was distracted, Atticus kicked him again. This time he managed to land a kick on the psycho's knee, causing it to buckle. He didn't wait and kicked the man again, this time between the legs, all the while twisting and wiggling as he attempted to get free from the ropes, and the psycho fell to the floor.

He managed to free an arm and quickly tilted his body to where the chair he was tied to fell to the ground. Wincing, though thankfully he hadn't landed on the arm that he had freed, he reached for his phone just as it started ringing again. He grabbed it and hit the answer button before also hitting the speaker button. He then, dropping the phone, ripped off the gag with his free hand.

"Atticus? Are you...?" Aunt Emily's voice began.

"Why you little…" the psycho snarled, not noticing that the phone was on.

"Get away from me, ya psycho!" Atticus shouted.

The psycho grabbed him by the hair and jerked him up but Atticus used his free hand to give him a quick uppercut and shouted, "I'm at some hotel! I don't know where but the psycho that's behind all the attacks has me." His free hand was grabbed and the psycho wasted no time snapping a few of Atticus's fingers, causing him to scream in agony.

"Atticus! Hold on, stay on the line. The police are tracing the call," Emily said.

The psycho released his hand and grabbed the phone before tossing it against the wall so that it shattered upon impact. He turned to glare at Atticus, who was glaring at him with tears of pain falling from his eyes, his hand throbbing and a few of his fingers at odd angles.

"You are lucky that I need you alive," the psycho snarled. He picked up something Atticus couldn't see and then slammed it hard into the Red-Eyes duelist's head, knocking him back into darkness.

**. . .**

Emily Rhodes could not get her nephew's agonizing screams out of her mind. She just couldn't. It echoed in her head and caused tears to fall from her eyes. She stared at her husband, who hugged her, though he was just as shaken by what they just heard as she was.

"We managed to narrow it down to this area," the police man said, pointing to the computer screen. "And there is only one hotel in that area. We're sending a squad out now. We'll find your nephew, Mrs. Rhodes."

"Please do," Emily whispered.

"He'll be all right. Atticus is strong," Matt said gently, wiping away Emily's tears.

"What do we tell the others?" Kaede asked quietly from where he stood nearby. "They'll want to know, especially Alexis, Kyle, and Keith."

"I don't think we should tell them what happened. We just tell them that we found Atticus's current location," Matt said.

Kaede nodded, pulling out his phone and immediately dialing a number as he left the room.

"Please be okay, Atticus," Emily whispered.

"Serena will want to kill this psycho," Matt murmured.

"I wouldn't exactly blame her."

**. . .**

"Okay, Dad, thanks," Jaden said and hung up his phone. He then turned to his friends. "They've managed to find where Atticus is right now."

"Is he okay?" Alexis asked.

"Dad didn't say," Jaden said, sitting down beside his girlfriend and wrapping his arms around her. She leaned against him, worry creasing her forehead and he gently kissed her forehead.

"He'll be okay," he said softly.

Alexis gazed up at him. "I hope so," she whispered. "I really do."

**. . .**

Kaage slung Atticus's unconscious body over his shoulder, already hearing the sirens getting gradually louder. "Hmph," he muttered as he strode out of the hotel room, making sure to take everything with him. The hotel he had chosen was one of those ones that were only two stories with the doors being outside and, so Kaage was able to walk away from it without anyone noticing, though he did tap into Dark Shadow's power to prevent anyone from noticing since he did paint a pretty big target on his back by lugging Atticus's unconscious body around. Frankly, he hoped the chloroform he used on the boy when Atticus stirred a few minutes ago would keep the boy asleep.

'_They_ _do seem to enjoy announcing that they are coming,_' Dark Shadow mused. '_Humans are so odd._'

_Most humans anyway, though they do that for safety reasons,_ Kaage thought.

'_To me, all humans are odd. You are odd, too, but in a good way I suppose,_' Dark Shadow said.

Kaage didn't know, nor did he care, whether that was a compliment or not.

He strode away, sticking to the shadows as he watched the police cars drive by. He remained in the shadows, though, knowing that it would be pointless to leave them when they provided the perfect cover and they powered Dark Shadow's powers.

'_Time_ _for phase two?_' Dark Shadow asked eagerly.

Kaage smirked. _Now time for phase two,_ he thought and looked at Atticus's body. _You will be playing the part of forcing your sister to duel soon enough._

**. . .**

Emily swallowed as another sob escaped her lips. They had just found out that they had been too late. The psycho who had Atticus had managed to get out of there before the police arrived.

"He could be anywhere," one of the police officers said quietly. "We are still looking, though."

"Thank you," Matt said, curling an arm around Emily's shoulders.

Kaede paced, wondering who the man who was behind all of this was. _Why is he targeting the Rhodes? What did he do to him? Atticus said the psycho was behind the attacks, so it really was one person if he's right, but how is he doing this?_ he thought. He had too many questions and not enough answers.

"What do we tell the others?" Matt asked.

"I think we have no choice but to tell them the truth," Kaede said.

"The whole truth? But Kaede…" Matt began.

Kaede shook his head. "No, not the whole truth. They should at least know about this kidnapper and that he has Atticus, though," he said.

**. . .**

Upon hearing the news, Alexis started sobbing, worry and concern battling in her brown eyes. Jaden didn't bother hanging up. He just dropped the phone on the bed and immediately gathered his girlfriend in his arms, rubbing her back soothingly as she buried her face into his neck, sobbing quietly.

"He'll be okay, Lex, he'll be okay," Jaden whispered soothingly.

"This kidnapper better hope Mom and Dad don't catch up with him. No one messes with a member of our family and gets away with it," Keith sad coolly.

Kyle nodded in agreement, grim concern on his face.

Celina hugged him, causing him to blush, but he didn't move.

Keith stood up and everyone looked at him.

"Where are you going?" Kyle asked.

"I need to take a walk," Keith said. "I won't leave the hotel, but I just need some time to think and calm down before I try to find the man who took Atticus myself." He left the hotel room.

"What I'm wondering is why did they take Atticus?" Kasumi said.

"Could they be looking for a ransom?" Chazz suggested.

"Why here in Hawaii? While that's a good idea, it just doesn't make sense for this to happen here. I mean, how many people out there know we're here?" Kyle said.

"True."

Alexis had managed to calm down, though she was still hiccupping.

Jaden got to his feet and walked over to the minifridge in the hotel room to get a bottle of water for her. He handed it to her and she, thanking him, began to sip from it.

Raiden ran a hand through his hair. "Other than for ransom, I honestly can't think of why this guy would kidnap Atticus," he said.

Jaden fidgeted, hoping that Atticus was not kidnapped for the same reason that Jaden and Raiden had been kidnapped when they were young. Granted, he still didn't know the real reason why they were kidnapped but the fact that his aunt and uncle, who had been sent to negotiate, had been killed, clearly said that it hadn't been about ransom. He hoped that what happened with his aunt and uncle didn't happen to Atticus's aunt and uncle.

**. . .**

Kaage made sure that Atticus was still unconscious at his new hiding place. He was only going to be staying there long enough to draw Alexis there, but he still needed—no, wanted—to let the little monster know that he was back.

It was fun playing mind games with someone, and letting the little monster know he was back and then systematically tear four people the little monster cared about away from him definitely helped with his plan.

It would break him and he would be that much easier to destroy.

_I am going to enjoy watching him break before he dies,_ Kaage thought sinisterly as he left the warehouse he was in and slipped out into the streets, sticking to the shadows as usual. He scanned the area, looking for the perfect victim to let the little monster and his friends and family know that he was back.

He finally spotted him, a man with a ten year old boy walking happily alongside him. He smirked as he strode forward. _Time for the next phase of my plan to be put into action,_ he thought.

**. . .**

Celina had been nice enough to get everyone glasses of iced tea while they waited for any news. So far, there was nothing, so the gang had taken to watching the quarter finals duels that were still showing on television, though with commercials occurring every ten minutes or so.

Jaden was sipping at his iced tea, occasionally looking at Alexis and Kyle, the two who were most worried about Atticus, not that Jaden could blame them. Had it been Raiden or Kasumi, Jaden would have been in the same boat, if he wasn't hunting the man down himself, like Keith already said he wanted to do.

The breaking news bulletin flashed on the screen suddenly and the anchorwoman appeared soon after it vanished. "_We interrupt this program to bring you another message. The Dark World attacker, as we have taken to calling him because of the calling card he always leaves with his victims, has struck again. We take you live to my colleague Breanna Rice who is live at the scene._"

The scene shifted until it looked as though they were in an area around downtown Honolulu, but in a place the gang had never been before. The reporter from before was standing with an ambulance at her back and police officers roaming around, like last time.

"_We're here at the edge of downtown Honolulu at the sight of the most recent attack by the Dark World attacker. Just like all the other people who have been attacked, the victim, who will remain nameless, was found with the counterfeit copy of Brron, Mad King of Dark World upon his chest and, like the other victims, he was found comatose. However, this time, there was a witness to this crime who is currently being interviewed by Detective Storm, who has officially taken on this case. Detective Storm?_" The reporter turned as the detective from last time walked over to join them, looking grim.

"_Is there anything you can tell us about the Dark World attacker now?_" the reporter asked.

Storm sighed. "_The witness, whom I will not name, told me that the attacker spoke to him directly after the witness's father fell. The attacker told the witness that he wants people to know about him and he wants people to know that he is not likely to stop these attacks anytime soon, 'until I get my revenge,' the witness said that was what the attacker said,_" he said.

"_Who is the attacker, Detective Storm?_" Breanna asked.

"_The witness said that the attacker's name is Kaage Naka._"

The utter silence that had descended upon the gang was broken by the sound of shattering glass.

**. . .**

"_The witness said that the attacker's name is Kaage Naka._"

"No!" Kaede gasped eyes wide with horror. "Oh God, no, not him!"

"You know him, Mr. Yuki?" Detective Coral, Storm's partner who had remained behind to continue helping Kaede, Matt, and Emily find Atticus, asked.

Kaede swallowed. "I…yes, I do. He's the leader of a gang of sorts that I helped to get arrested almost ten years ago. He swore he'd get his revenge on me and he nearly did when he attacked my wife and my sons before we adopted my daughter Kasumi. His brother nearly killed my wife and then someone murdered his brother, his friends and nearly killed him. Kaage somehow survived, though I had thought for sure he had died, so did my wife. We didn't find out until recently that he had only been put into a coma."

"You seem terrified of him, Kaede," Matt said quietly.

"I'm just scared for my children," Kaede said quietly. "He wants revenge against me and I fear he will go after Jaden, Raiden, and Kasumi as a result. Oh, I should have taken my wife's warning seriously."

"Wait, your wife warned you this might happen?" Coral asked.

"She was attacked in Florence sometime before the second semifinals duel and she said that the attacker gave her a warning that he was going after me and my children next. But I have never seen Kaage Naka as someone who would warn his victims that he was coming after them, which was why I didn't believe her. I should have!"

"Calm down, Mr. Yuki," Coral said gently. "Based on what you've said, I can't blame you for not believing your wife. This guy seems like he's a psychopath and what psychopath would warn their victim?"

"Should we call and warn the kids?" Matt asked.

"I think we should," Emily said quietly.

**. . .**

Everyone turned as one to the source of the sound to see Jaden staring wide-eyed at the screen, the shattered remains of the glass he had been holding at his feet. He was white with horror and anger and worry all battling in his eyes and his hands appeared to be shaking.

"Judai?" Raiden whispered, concerned.

"It's not possible," Jaden said in disbelief. "It's not possible, it can't be him! He can't be alive. _I killed him myself!_"

Everyone froze, staring wide-eyed at Jaden as the boy trembled, eyes flickering between gold and brown as he stared at the screen. "He can't be alive! He can't be!" he whispered.

"Judai," Raiden whispered, the only one unfazed by Jaden's outburst. He moved to Jaden's side before gathering his little brother in his arms as he held him and gently rocked him, trying to get him to calm down. He knew who Kaage Naka was; the man had introduced himself when he had challenged his mother to a Shadow Duel, so he knew exactly why Jaden was reacting this way.

Kaage Naka was one of the people Jaden attacked and killed—or almost killed in this case—when Haou took control the second time.

"What do you mean, Jaden?" Kasumi said eyes wide. "Jay, what do you mean?"

"You…you said that you…you killed him yourself," Alexis whispered.

Tears started falling from Jaden's eyes as he realized exactly what he had said. He gazed at his brother and Raiden, who gently wiped the tears from his eyes, gave a small but sad smile. "You're gonna have to tell 'em, Judai. They all heard you. You have to tell 'em before they jump to the wrong conclusions. They need to know the truth."

"But they'll hate me," Jaden whispered.

"You don't know that. You thought the same of me when you told me the truth," Raiden said, rubbing Jaden's back.

Jaden closed his eyes. "O…Okay," he whispered, not opening his eyes for a long moment. When he did open them, he turned to look at the television screen for a long moment.

"Jaden?" Alexis whispered. "Did you…did you really kill him?"

"I thought I did," Jaden said softly and, ignoring the looks exchanged by everyone in the room, he added, "it happened nine years ago, when my powers first awakened."

"Powers?" Celina repeated.

"The powers of the Supreme King, Celina. It's complicated," Jaden said quietly. "I…I didn't exactly tell you guys the entire truth when I told you about what happened when my powers awakened. I just…I didn't feel ready. I was afraid, scared that you would turn your backs on me and hate me for what I did. But since I kinda just blurted it out now, I figured I might as well tell you the whole story."

"As I told you before, what happened during my duel against Kagemaru has happened twice before. However, both times it was worse than it was during that duel," Jaden said. "The first time this happened was when my powers originally awakened. I was seven, Raiden was eight. We had been playing in the park one day when these men suddenly grabbed us. I don't remember much about what actually happened, as I had been knocked out. When I woke up, we were in this warehouse somewhere.

"I don't know why the kidnappers took me and Raiden, but it wasn't for ransom. I know that because my Aunt Cassie and my Uncle Kaito had arrived to negotiate with the kidnappers for our release. But…" Jaden trailed off, gripping his hands into fists. Raiden rested a hand on Jaden's and he slowly relaxed before going on.

"While this was happening, Raiden had managed to escape, but the kidnappers caught me before I could. Aunt Cassie and Uncle Kaito had been brought before the leader, but he didn't give them a chance to speak. He just shot them in cold-blood." Jaden closed his eyes and slowly told his friends about what happened afterwards; the blur, the explosion, the bodies.

"I panicked once I came to, and I ran. I crashed into Raiden and the two of us managed to get out of there. The fire destroyed everything and everyone; we were lucky we managed to get out of there alive ourselves," Jaden finished softly.

"Y…You killed them?" Chazz said in shock.

"No," Raiden said suddenly, firmly. "Haou killed them. It may have been Jaden's hands that did the deed, but it was Haou who had been in control at the time. Jaden is not to blame for what Haou made him do."

"I thought you said Haou wasn't evil," Alexis said.

"He isn't," Jaden said with a shake of his head. "But I also said he has a tendency to go too far to get what he wants. In this case, he wanted to avenge the murder of my aunt and uncle, and was pissed by the fact that history was repeating itself because his powers had awakened for the same reason, losing someone he really cared about. Those two combined together caused this to happen."

"But what does this have to do with Kaage Naka?" asked Kyle.

"My dad thinks Kaage had something to do with what happened to those kidnappers. That's what I overheard him say one time, anyway. I don't know if he's right or not. What happened between me and Kaage happened a few months later. My powers were still very unstable around this time and Haou remained a constant presence in the back of my mind. He was the only one who could control my powers, as they were once his.

"Anyway, my mom, Raiden, and I were heading home from the store, I think. Kaage Naka and his brother and friends grabbed me and Raiden and forced us into this alley, Raiden was practically knocked out during that. Mom, naturally, went after us. Kaage introduced himself, though I'm sure Kaage isn't his real name, and then challenged Mom to a Shadow Duel. Kaage was like Titan when we first met him. He was all talk and smoke and mirrors and that kind of stuff. He was used to his victims being terrified when he challenged them. Mom wasn't.

"She told him no. His brother got pissed for some reason I don't even know and attacked her, stabbing her in the chest with a knife no one knew he had." Jaden paused for a moment and then went on to tell exactly what happened next; he didn't go into too much detail but the way he described what happened immediately told his listeners that, unlike the first time, this time he had been more aware of what was happening.

"I then remember Yubel screaming at me, at Haou actually, to stop and then I was waking up in the hospital and the doctors were telling me that I had been in a coma for three days. One doctor told me that I was lucky I hadn't been killed by whoever had killed Kaage, his brother and his friends. Naturally, I was shocked since I was the one that killed them."

Jaden turned to Raiden before adding, "I didn't tell you this, Rai, but the only reason why I wasn't charged with anything was because there was no evidence linking me to what happened. The knife that I had used? Yubel got rid of it. I don't know how, as she never told me, but she got rid of any and all evidence linking me to what happened."

'_I_ _did it because I did not want Jaden to suffer for what Haou did_,' Yubel said quietly, materializing beside the bed.

"Jaden would've been blamed for what Haou did," Kasumi said, "even though it's obvious he had no control over what happened, not to mention it could be seen as self-defense so it's doubtful that he would've actually been charged with anything."

'_I didn't know if that was true at the time,_' Yubel said.

"So what? Does Jaden like have DID?" Celina asked, sounding horrified but also confused.

"DID?" Jaden repeated.

"Dissociative Identity Disorder. It basically means you have more than one identity that you can switch between," Raiden said. "It's more complicated than that, but that's the general gist."

"It's complicated, Celina," Jaden said. "While DID does explain a lot, now that I think about it, Haou is an actual person. Man, I'm making it sound like I'm crazy."

"You kinda are," Chazz said and was promptly smacked upside the head by Kasumi. "Ow!"

"I think this means that you and Haou are like two separate personalities and identities that are, in no way, connected, except by the fact that you are sharing the same body," Kasumi said. "That's why Dissociative Identity Disorder does make a lot of sense."

Jaden remained silent. "I can understand if you guys hate me now," he said quietly.

"You already know that I don't hate you, Judai," Raiden said quietly.

Kasumi stood up and walked over to join Jaden before taking his hand in hers. "I don't, either," she said. "I know that it was Haou that is to blame for what happened and I can't hate you for what he did. That would be like blaming Atticus for what Nightshroud did or Raiden for what Dark Shadow did. My point is that you weren't in control of your actions, therefore you are not responsible."

"Nightshroud? Dark Shadow?" Celina repeated.

"Erm, very long story," Kyle said. "And, Jaden, based on everything I've heard, I have to agree with Kasumi. I can't blame you for what Haou did. It's hard to understand, but I do understand that you and Haou are two completely different personalities, just as you told us after the duel against Kagemaru."

Arina nodded. "He is your other half, yes, but he is not you," she said.

"Personally, I just think you have DID, but that still means that whatever your other identity did isn't your fault," Celina said.

Chazz folded his arms across his chest. "You and Haou are two completely different people," he said. "There's no doubt about that. I have no doubt Haou would never have stood up to my brothers to defend me. So, while I do still think you're kinda crazy—ow!—I don't think that what happened was your fault at all." He rubbed his head from where Kasumi had smacked him again.

Alexis nodded in agreement as she gently took Jaden's hand. "I love you, Jaden," she said, "and, while I am shocked that Haou could do something like this, that doesn't change how I feel about you. I can't blame you for what he did."

"So you see, Judai, they don't hate you because they understand that what happened was not your fault. It was your hands, yes, but it was still not you," Raiden said.

Jaden gave him a small smile "I suppose you're right," he said.

"Well, duh."

Jaden smacked his brother upside the head for that.

"So what do we do know? We know Kaage Naka is still alive, we know that he is the one behind these attacks, and I think it's safe to assume he's gonna be coming after you, Jaden," Kyle said.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Jaden admitted. "Kaage has proven, with these attacks alone, that he doesn't care who he hurts to get what he wants, though why attack people who have nothing to do with his hatred towards me, I don't know."

"He's a psychopath, 'nuff said," Chazz said.

"You know, Chazz is probably right," Kasumi said.

"Yeah, but if he comes after me, he might try to get at me by going through you guys. That's what I'm afraid of. I don't want you guys to get hurt for something that is my…_Haou's_ fault," he corrected quickly when Raiden glared at him and opened his mouth to protest.

"Honestly, I think we're in danger no matter what, Jay," Kasumi said.

"Is it possible that Kaage is the one that has Atticus?" Celina suggested suddenly.

"Oh God, I hope not," Jaden said and the gang fell silent.

A laugh sounded suddenly, shattering the silence just as all the lights in the room snapped off, the television going first. Jaden and everyone else jumped, startled by the laugh and the sudden darkness that enveloped them.

"So they don't blame you for what you did to me, little monster?" a very familiar voice echoed around them. Though it had been over nine years since Jaden last heard it, he recognized it.

"Kaage," he growled, getting to his feet.

"So, you do remember me, little monster. I'm not at all surprised," the voice purred. "But this is wonderful. It will make my revenge all the sweeter knowing that you know exactly who it is that is tormenting you. Perhaps now you can know my pain."

"Your brother tried to kill my mother," Jaden shouted, eyes flaring gold.

"And there are those demon eyes of yours, little monster," the voice hissed. "The very same eyes that have haunted my sleep for more than nine years while I lay in a coma, barely clinging on to life, all thanks to you. I swore I would avenge my brother's murder at your hands, little monster, and I plan on doing just that."

The voice grew quieter as Kaage hissed, "You took my brother, someone I love, away from me and my revenge shall start, little monster, by me taking someone you love away from you!"

Then there was a scream that Jaden, to his horror, recognized. "Alexis!" he cried, whirling around and reaching for his girlfriend, only to find his hands grasping at empty air.

"Come and find me, little monster. After all, it will be all the sweeter to force you to watch as I tear the soul from the woman you love, just as you tore the life from the brother that I loved," Kaage hissed and then there was nothing but silence.

The lights flickered on, followed by the television, announcing to the occupants of the room that the final duel of the quarter finals was about to begin. Jaden stood where he had jumped to his feet when Kaage first started speaking, his hands clenched into fists and his eyes were golden, filled with pain, rage and concern all battling to be the dominate emotion.

The gang all looked around, checking to see if everyone was okay. It soon became obvious that Kaage had not been kidding when he said he would be taking someone Jaden loved away from him.

Alexis was gone.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and there you have. Chapter 8 has been posted!**

**Jaden: (being restrained by Jesse, Chazz, Yami and Bakura) let me at him! Let me at him!**

**Blaze: wants to go kill Kaage, doesn't he?**

**Bakura: no kidding**

**Blaze: (shrugs and starts listening to **_**Burn!**_** by bullettrain) I really do love this song. I wanna learn how to speak Japanese! (pout) Hey, I just thought of a question!**

**Jesse: really? What is it?**

**Blaze: simple, if you could learn to speak any language, which would it be? Me, it's a tie between Japanese and Spanish, the former because it's such a pretty language and the latter because it's my heritage, even though I never learned it (pout)**

**Jesse: ah, I'm sure you'll learn those languages someday**

**Blaze: oh I want to definitely**

**Bakura: whatever, are you going to end the chapter anytime soon?**

**Blaze: gees, patience. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter (and please don't kill me because of the cliffhanger I left [I love my cliffhangers!]) and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	9. Revenge, Part I

**Cool. I'm updating on a Sunday for the first time in a while. Yay!**

**Anyway, thank you to **_**StrawHatLuffy94, bobmanv2.0, Guest, dragonrider90, Cloud4012, DarkZorua100, SuperNeos2, decode9, Sorcerer of the Stories, EndlessNight025, Lightclaw's Shadow, iloveyugiohGX93, Kamen Rider Sting **_**and **_**a1993**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**And, as usual, a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader and very good at writing up duels.**

**This chapter is the first of a four-part chapter, separated by other 'filler' chapters that are necessary for the plot. The next two chapters do not have duels in them but they are very important for this story as well as for the seasons to come.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**9**

**Revenge, Part I**

Alexis groaned, lifting her head slowly off the ground. She didn't remember much other than being grabbed as suddenly as she had been. There had been a searing pain and then darkness and now she had no idea where she was. She slowly pushed herself to her feet and gazed around; the floor seemed to be empty with shafts of sunlight streaming in from the windows.

"You're awake," a cool voice said and Alexis whirled around to find a dark figure gliding soundlessly toward her, stepping into a shaft of sunlight so that she could make out his features. He was tall with shoulder-length lavender-colored hair framing his lightly tanned oval-shaped face and dark-green eyes that were hard and cold like ice.

"Who are you?" Alexis demanded.

The man smirked, folding his arms across his chest. "Didn't you hear your precious boyfriend greet me by name?" he said, curling his upper lip in a sneer.

The Cyber Girl duelist narrowed her eyes. "So you're Kaage Naka," she said.

The man bowed mockingly. "At your service, beautiful lady," he purred.

Alexis felt the sudden urge to smack him in the face. "Where am I? And why did you bring me here?" she demanded.

"Simple." Kaage held out his arm and Alexis watched as a Battle City-styled duel disk came to life; the sunlight caused the golden bracelet around his wrist to glisten.

_Wait, that looks like a Shadow Charm, _she thought warily. "You want to duel me?" she said.

"Of course," Kaage said with a cool smirk, his free hand fingering the necklace that Alexis noticed was hanging around his neck; crystals in the shape of diamonds, six of which were glowing with an inner golden light.

"Why?"

"_Tsk, tsk._ Why would I tell you that?"

"If you don't, then I see no reason to duel you," Alexis snapped. "And besides, your brother tried to kill my boyfriend's mother."

"And your precious boyfriend _murdered_ my brother and my friends and nearly me," Kaage snarled back.

_It wasn't him, not exactly,_ Alexis thought. She didn't think Kaage would care about that, or believe her anyway, but she had to know a few other things, based on what happened recently. "Why attack those others, then? The Princetons, those four random people?" she said.

Kaage shrugged. "It was fun," he said.

_Wow, he's a psycho._ Alexis folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not dueling you, though," she said firmly.

Kaage let out a cool chuckle. "Oh, I had the feeling you would say 'no' so, this time, I was prepared." He walked over to the wall and flicked on the lights and Alexis gasped, eyes widened with shock when she spotted the brown-haired boy she recognized in an instant tied to a chair nearby.

_Atticus!_

"What did you do to him?" Alexis shouted, turning her gaze from her unconscious brother to the lavender-haired psycho who was now leaning against the wall, watching her.

"He's only unconscious," Kaage said dismissively. "I took him to ensure that you agreed to duel me. It's rather simple, Alexis, you duel me and your brother lives, you refuse to duel me, and your brother dies." He waved his hand toward something and Alexis followed his gesture to see something dangling above Atticus's head; a crate of some sort.

She swallowed. She didn't want to know what was in that crate but, at the same time, she didn't know if Kaage was bluffing or not. "You're bluffing," she said, turning back to Kaage.

"Am I?"

The Cyber Girl duelist bit her lip. She didn't know, but she couldn't risk the fact that Kaage might not be bluffing. It was just a duel but, at the same time, Alexis didn't know what else Kaage had planned.

"So, what's it going to be? Duel me or watch your brother die?" Kaage said coolly.

Alexis ground her teeth together. She didn't have a choice. She couldn't risk it, not when Atticus's life was on the line. "Fine, you psycho," she growled.

"I knew you would see things my way." The psycho walked over to a crate and pulled out a duel disk before tossing it across to Alexis, who caught it. She had her deck with her but she hadn't brought her duel disk with her to Hawaii.

Kaage then pulled out a phone; it took Alexis a moment to realize it was her phone. "Let's see if he can find us before this ends," he murmured, typing something on the phone before tossing it on top of a nearby crate.

"Shall we get started?" he added.

"Fine. When I win, though, Atticus goes free," Alexis said, wondering what he had just done, but she decided against asking.

"Very well then."

Alexis strapped on the duel disk and inserted her deck before looking toward her brother's unconscious form. "I'll get you outta here, Atty," she said quietly before she turned to Kaage as her duel disk turned on. "Let's get this over with."

"Let's," Kaage agreed with a smirk.

"Duel!" The two of them drew their opening hands.

**Kaage: 8000**

**Alexis: 8000**

"I will start," Kaage said calmly, drawing his sixth card. "And I will set this card in facedown Defense Mode and end with that. Your move, girl."

A horizontal facedown card appeared at his feet.

"Fine, check this out," Alexis said, drawing a card and then picking a card in her hand before placing it on the duel disk. "I summon Cyber Tutu in Attack Mode."

Her pink-haired ballerina spun onto the field (A: 1000/D: 800).

"Now, Cyber Tutu, attack Kaage's set monster, Pounding Pirouette," Alexis ordered and her ballerina spun across the field before kicking the facedown, causing it to flip up to reveal a creepy blue jar with a creepy grin showing yellow teeth and a single, large red eye (A: 700/D: 600).

"This is my Morphing Jar. Flipping it up activates its effect. We discard our entire hands and then draw five cards," Kaage said.

Alexis bit her lip in irritation as she discarded her hand and drew five new cards as Cyber Tutu returned to her side of the field and Morphing Jar shattered; Kaage also drew five new cards before he smirked.

"And, because I discarded him from a card effect, I can now activate Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World's effect to Special Summon him to the field in Attack Mode," Kaage added, retrieving the card from his Graveyard and placing it on his duel disk.

A pale-blue and white fiend with its skull exposed wielding a white sword appeared on the field, holding his sword as if ready to attack (A: 1600/D: 1300).

"And Broww, Huntsman of Dark World's effect also activates, allowing me to draw one card," Kaage added and drew one card.

"Fine, I place one card facedown and end my turn," Alexis added and a vertical facedown appeared at her feet.

**. . .**

Jaden was, understandably, concerned and would not stop pacing. Only about ten minutes had gone by since Alexis was taken and Jaden was wringing his fingers, trying to figure out what to do. He had to find his girlfriend before something happened to her. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

"Judai, pacing is not going to help," Raiden said.

"I have to find her," Jaden said.

"Pacing is not going to help us find her, though."

Jaden sighed. "I know," he said. "But I have no idea where she can be. She won't answer her phone," he said. "But I don't understand. He wants me to find her. How am I supposed to find her when I don't even have an idea of where to look?"

A phone beeped and Jaden glanced toward it as Raiden picked up Jaden's phone and opened it. "It's a text from Alexis's phone," he said.

Jaden's eyes widened and he immediately moved forward. "What does it say?" he asked.

Raiden opened up the message. "It's instructions," he said, "to someplace here in Honolulu, I'm guessing. That's probably where Alexis is."

"Well, let's go, then," Jaden said immediately, grabbing his phone out of his brother's hands and his deck.

"Slow down, Slacker. We don't even know if Alexis is really there," Chazz said.

"Chazz is right. You could be walking right into a trap," Kasumi said.

Jaden shook his head. "Kaage said he wanted me to watch what happens to Alexis," he said. "She needs help. If she ends up like Slade, Jagger, and the others…" He trailed off, hand gripping into a fist. "I've gotta find her before that happens."

He turned and immediately left the hotel room, heading toward the elevator.

"Judai! Wait up!" Raiden called, running after him with Kasumi, Chazz, Kyle, Arina and Celina just after him. He caught up with Jaden just as he reached the elevator. "I'm going with you."

"Me, too," Kasumi said.

"I'm going, too. Alexis is my cousin," Kyle said.

"Alexis is our friend, too," Arina said and Chazz nodded in agreement.

Jaden gazed at them. "I won't be able to talk you outta coming with, huh?" he said.

"Nope," Kasumi said, shaking her head.

"All right, fine but let's get moving." Jaden slipped into the elevator followed by the rest of the gang and Celina, though no one thought to ask why Celina was going with them.

**. . .**

"My draw," Kaage said calmly, drawing a card before placing it on his duel disk. "And I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World in Attack Mode."

A crazy looking blue fiend with green skeletal-like arms in a dark-blue robe appeared on the field with a mad cackle (A: 1800/D: 400).

"Brron, attack Cyber Tutu," Kaage ordered, and his Fiend, with a cackle, shot forward and struck Cyber Tutu, destroying her.

**Kaage: 8000**

**Alexis: 7200**

"And since I dealt battle damage to you, I can now discard a card," Kaage said, discarding a card before adding, "and because I discarded my Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World by a card effect, I can now target one card on your field and destroy it."

Alexis's facedown shattered.

"And now Beiige, attack Alexis directly," he ordered and his vanguard fiend shot forward before slashing its sword across Alexis's chest, causing her to scream in agony.

**Kaage: 8000**

**Alexis: 5600**

She fell to her knees, gasping, her eyes wide with shock and pain. _I felt that,_ she thought before lifting her head to look at Kaage, who was chuckling, eyes alit with glee. "This is a Shadow Game," she whispered.

"Indeed it is," Kaage kept on snickering as he ended his Battle Phase. "I activate the effect of Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World. When he is in my Graveyard, I can return one Dark World monster on my field to my hand in order to Special Summon him straight to the field. So I return Beiige back to my hand."

He removed the card that was placed on the duel disk and then retrieved a card in his Graveyard before placing it on his duel disk.

"Now, come forth, Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!" Kaage declared.

Alexis gasped as a fiendish dragon-like creature appeared with a roar onto the field behind Kaage; it was a metallic gray color with large dark-gray wings and glowing orange eyes (A: 2700/D: 1800).

"I end my turn," he purred.

Forcing herself to her feet, Alexis winced, resting a hand on her chest. "I…It's my turn," she said, drawing a card and smiled a little when she saw what it was. "And I start by activating Polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater in my hand in order to summon Cyber Blader in Attack Mode."

Her skater with the purple jumpsuit and her red-haired dancer appeared momentarily before they fused together to create Alexis's blue-haired Fusion Monster (A: 2100-4200/D: 800).

"And, check this, her effect depends on the number of monsters on your side of the field. Since you have two, her attack is doubled," Alexis explained.

Kaage's brow creased, but he otherwise remained silent.

"Cyber Blader, attack Brron with Whirlwind Rage!" Her Cyber Blader immediately spun across the field before a foot lashed out and connected with Brron, causing the Fiend to growl in pain and shatter.

**Kaage: 5600**

**Alexis: 5600**

"And since you only control one monster now, Cyber Blader can't be destroyed by battle," Alexis added. "I will end my turn with that." (A: 4200-2100/D: 800)

**. . .**

"There is still no sign of where Atticus can be," Detective Coral said, glancing at the three adults who were seated around her.

Matt sighed, snaking an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Do you think that Atticus is right about what he told Emily? That the psycho who is behind all these attacks was the one that kidnapped him?" he asked.

"I do not know," Coral said. "But it's possible."

"If Kaage really does have Atticus, then he's in a lot of danger," Kaede said. "But I don't think he'll do anything to Atticus."

"How do you figure that?" Emily asked.

"I think he might be using Atticus to draw me and my family out. Atticus is one of Jaden's and Raiden's friends, after all, and if Kaage was smart, he did his research before he came here."

"That's supposing he is going after you and your family," Matt said. _Granted, you do know him so it is likely_, he thought. He was always good about keeping a level-head while in the middle of a crisis. It wasn't as if this was the first time that Matt had ever dealt with a crisis. Like Kaede, he did work in law enforcement, and still worked there, and so had handled situations like this. This one hit closer to home though because his niece and nephew were in the middle of it but Matt wasn't about to let that prevent him from thinking over things rationally.

"And we don't know for sure if he is doing that," Matt added, thinking about everything they knew. "You and your family have no connection with the others who were attacked, after all, with the exception of the Princetons, and that's only because Chazz is one of your children's friends."

"Yeah, but he's a psychopath. Who knows what a psychopath is thinking at any given moment?"

_And yet you didn't warn any of us that this could happen,_ Matt thought angrily before taking a calming breath. Concerned though he was about his niece and nephew, getting angry with Kaede wouldn't make matters any better.

"He's got a point," Coral said. "So we have to consider the fact that Kaage Naka could be going after Mr. Yuki's family? Are they still at the hotel?"

"They should be," Matt said.

"We should call to be sure," Emily said, already pulling out her phone. She dialed the number and it rang several times, but no one answered. "Alexis isn't answering." She tried Kyle while Kaede pulled out his phone and called Jaden, Raiden and Kasumi.

"My children aren't answering, either," he said worriedly as he hung up.

"Neither is Kyle," Emily said, dialing Keith's number and putting the phone to her ear.

"_Hello?_" Keith's voice said.

"Thank God you answered, Keith," Emily said, relieved.

"_Mom? What's the matter?_" Keith asked.

"Where's your brother and cousin, Keith? And their friends? They're not answering their phones."

"_I don't know. I went to take a walk. Kyle's not answering?_"

"No."

"_Hold on. Bakura, can you call Celina? No one else seems to be answering their phones._"

"_All right_," a quiet voice said in the background.

"_Bakura's calling Celina now. She was with them when I left_," Keith said. "_But what's the matter, Mom?_"

Emily hesitated and then said, "We're just checking to see if they're still at the hotel."

"_She answered, Keith,_" Bakura said in the background.

"_Where is she? And where are the others?_"

There was a moment of silence, then: "_She sounded out of breath. She said something about finding Alexis and that it was hard for her to talk and run at the same time, so she hung up,_" Bakura said.

"_Finding Alexis?_" Keith echoed.

"Finding Alexis?" Emily echoed at the same time. _Oh God, is she missing too?_ she thought worry filtering through her at the thought of her niece being gone like her nephew.

"_That's what Celina said, Keith_."

"_Did she say if she was with the others?_"

"_I heard someone in the background, so I think she was,_" Bakura said.

"_Okay, thanks, Bakura. I'm sorry, Mom, but I think they all left the hotel,_" Keith said.

"Okay, thank you, Keith. Please, stay in the hotel for now. We'll find everyone else," Emily said.

"_Okay,_" Keith said and hung up.

"Keith thinks they left the hotel," Emily said, lowering her phone.

"And you said something about finding Alexis," Matt said.

"That's what I overheard Bakura saying Celina—you know that girl that Kyle became friends with?—said. I don't know what he meant, though," Emily said. _Oh I hope she's all right, _she thought.

**. . .**

Jaden, Raiden, Kasumi, Arina, Kyle, Chazz and Celina dashed across the street toward the warehouse that was their final destination. It had taken a little while to find the warehouse following the instructions Kaage had sent. Thankfully, they were rather straight forward and the gang was able to take a few taxis to an area close to the warehouse's location. They ran the rest of the way.

"This is it," Jaden said, gazing at the warehouse.

"Looks…like…it," Kasumi gasped, bending over and resting her hands on her knees as she struggled to get her breath back.

"Sorry, Kas," Jaden said, glancing at his sister worriedly.

"I'm okay," Kasumi assured him as she straightened.

The gang walked into the warehouse after that and Jaden immediately gazed around, until he spotted his girlfriend. "Alexis?" he called, jogging forward.

"You should stop before you get too close, little monster," Kaage's voice sneered and Jaden skidded to a halt before glaring at the man standing across from Alexis; lavender-purple hair, wild dark-green eyes; he looked very much like he had when Jaden last saw him.

"Kaage," Jaden said coolly.

Kaage's lips pulled back into a sinister grin. "You got here just in time to watch your little girlfriend fall, little monster," he said.

Jaden growled. "Let her go, Kaage," he snapped, golden eyes flashing.

Kaage smirked and shook his head. "Once a Shadow Game begins, little monster, it cannot end until someone wins," he said with a smirk. "And you cannot interfere. If you do, it will be considered an automatic forfeit on your precious girlfriend's side."

Jaden growled, though he knew Kaage was right.

"It's worse, Jaden," Alexis said.

"What?"

Alexis pointed and the gang turned to find Atticus tied to a chair, unconscious.

"Atticus," the gang gasped.

"What did you do to him?" Jaden demanded.

"Relax, little monster, he's just unconscious," Kaage said with a sneer. "Now then, shall we get on with the duel, beautiful lady?"

Jaden's hands clenched into fists and Raiden, noticing, placed a calming hand on Jaden's arm.

"It's your move, psycho," Alexis said coolly.

"Very well then," Kaage said, drawing a card. "I activate the Field Spell: The Gates of Dark World," he added, inserting the card into his Field Spell slot. The ground shuddered and a giant gate rose up from the ground behind Kaage and Grapha and fog swirled around his feet while lightning crackled around them.

'_Dark World cards. That's a surprise,_' Haou murmured.

_Why?_ Jaden thought.

Haou seemed to be deep in thought and didn't respond.

"With this in play, all Fiend-type monsters gain 300 Attack and Defense," Kaage said as his Grapha was surrounded by lightning and he growled as his power increased (A: 2700-3000/D: 1800-2100).

"I'll now activate my Field Spell's additional effect," he went on. "By banishing a Fiend-Type monster in my Graveyard, I can discard one Fiend-Type monster in my hand and then draw a card."

With that, he removed Broww in his Graveyard from play, discarded Beiige from his hand, and then drew a card.

"And since Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World was discarded from my hand due to a card effect, he's once again Special Summoned to the field."

The sword-wielding pale-blue and white fiend returned to the field (A: 1600-1900/D: 1300-1600).

"Next, I'll summon Zure, Knight of Dark World in Attack Mode," he said.

A fiendish knight with a tattered black cloak around his shoulders appeared on the field (A: 1800-2100/D: 1500-1800).

"But since you now have exactly three monsters on your field, my Cyber Blader's third effect, Shining Cyber Light, activates, which negates all of your Spell, Trap, and monster effects," Alexis cut in as Cyber Blader's body started to glow with a bright light that overpowered Kaage's Field Spell, returning the Attack and Defense of his three Fiends to their original values.

"A minor annoyance, but not one I'll have to worry about for long," Kaage smirked. "Grapha, destroy Cyber Blader!"

Grapha roared and lashed out with its claws and struck Cyber Blader, destroying her in an instant.

**Kaage: 5600**

**Alexis: 5000**

With Cyber Blader now gone, the darkness from The Gates of Dark World returned, empowering the Fields on the field once again (Grapha A: 2700-3000/D: 1800-2100) (Beiige A: 1600-1900/D: 1300-1600) (Zure A: 1800-2100/D: 1500-1800).

"Now, Beiige and Zure, attack her directly!" Kaage ordered.

The two remaining Fiends charged forward and struck Alexis with their weapons, causing her to scream in pain as she was sent flying to the ground as a result.

**Kaage: 5600**

**Alexis: 1000**

"Alexis!" Jaden cried.

Kaage laughed in glee as Alexis remained on the ground. "I knew this would be entertaining," he said, still laughing.

"You're sick!" Kasumi shouted, clenching her hand into a fist to the point that it started to heat up, but she managed to control her anger before she lashed out.

"How can you laugh at this?" Arina exclaimed.

"He's a sadistic bastard," Chazz growled.

"I end my turn with that," Kaage said with a smirk. "Can you even continue? Hmph, no surprise the little monster chose a weak girl like yourself as his girlfriend."

Jaden growled.

"I am…not weak and I…am still in this," Alexis gasped out as she pushed herself to her knees and slowly started to get to her feet. "It's my turn. I draw." She drew a card and looked at it before inserting it into her duel disk.

"I activate Card of Sanctity so that we each draw until we are holding six cards in our hands," she added and the two of them drew until they had a full hand.

"And next I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Cyber Blader in Attack Mode," she added and her blue-haired skater spun back onto the field (A: 2100/D: 800). Her light once again began to shine, rendering all of Kaage's card effects useless since he still had three monsters on the field.

"I'll then play The Warrior Returning Alive and use it to add Cyber Tutu back to my hand," Alexis went on as she did just that.

She then proceeded to Normal Summon the aforementioned monster, the leotard-clad ballerina took a bow as she retook the field (A: 1000/D: 800).

"And since all of the monsters on your field have Attack Points that are higher than Cyber Tutu's, she's allowed to wage a direct attack on you! Pounding Pirouette!"

Cyber Tutu launched into the air, performing a graceful front flip layout before landing in front of Kaage to give him a spinning back kick right on the shoulder.

**Kaage: 4600**

**Alexis: 1000**

"I now activate the Quick-Play Spell, Prima Light," Alexis announced, holding out another card in the midst of her Battle Phase. "With this, I can tribute Cyber Tutu on my field in order to Special Summon Cyber Prima from my hand in Attack Mode."

Cyber Tutu was surrounded by a bright light before she vanished to be replaced by a white-haired woman with a red mask over his face in a silver bodysuit with yellow hoops around her shoulders, wrists and waist (A: 2300/D: 1600).

"And when Cyber Prima is summoned to the field, all Spell Cards on the field are destroyed," added Alexis. A bright light erupted from Cyber Prima, surging across the field and obliterated Kaage's Field Spell.

"Next, I'll have Cyber Prima attack Beiige!"

Her monster surged across the field before kicking the designated Fiend into oblivion.

**Kaage: 3900**

**Alexis: 1000**

"And now that you're down to two monsters, Cyber Blader's Attack Points are once again doubled," the Cyber Girl duelist noted, as her Blader's Attack rose to 4200.

She then ordered her remaining monster to attack Zure. Cyber Blader immediately obeyed, spinning across the field before roundhouse kicking the dark knight, blowing him clear off the field. She knew there was no point in going after Grapha, though it was the bigger threat, because Kaage could still revive it from the Graveyard since he still had Dark World monsters on the field.

**Kaage: 1500**

**Alexis: 1000**

With only one monster now on Kaage's field, Cyber Blader's power dropped back down to its original value.

"Finally, I'll set one card and end my turn," she ended, inserting a card into her duel disk.

Meanwhile, Atticus groaned and blinked open his eyes. He had to blink several times before they finally adjusted to the dim light around him. His head was throbbing, making him wonder how many times the psycho had hit him in the head, and his hand was still hurting from his broken fingers.

His eyes finally adjusted and they widened when he spotted Alexis standing across from the psycho; a duel disk on her arm was on and she had Cyber Prima and Cyber Blader floating in front of her.

"Alexis?" Atticus mumbled and then, raising his voice, called, "Alexis!"

"Atticus!" Alexis gasped. "Are you okay?"

Atticus groaned. "My head and hand hurt, but I'm fine," he said.

Alexis looked relieved.

"So touching," Kaage sneered as he drew a card. "I activate Dark World Dealings so now we each draw one card and then discard one card." He drew a card and discarded one of the cards in his hand just as Alexis did the same.

"Alexis, why are you dueling him? He's a psycho! There's no telling what he's gonna do," said Atticus.

"It's a Shadow Game, boy," Kaage said with a smirk. "And your little sister didn't have a choice."

Atticus glared at him. "You bastard. If you hurt her, I'll kick your ass," he snapped, struggling to break free.

"As I was saying," Kaage said, ignoring Atticus's words, "since I discarded my Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World with the effect of Dark World Dealings, I can now destroy one monster on the field. I'll go with your Cyber Blader."

A large, grey ape-like Fiend appeared from a dark void that suddenly opened up in the ground, seizing Cyber Blader in a vice grip before destroying her, taking her to the Graveyard along with him, making Alexis gasp.

"Next, I summon Snoww, Unlight of Dark World in Attack Mode."

A female Fiend with pale skin and white snaky hair appeared on the field, her shoulders draped in a white cloak (A: 1700/D: 0).

"Now, Grapha, attack Cyber Prima," the Dark World duelist said coolly and Grapha flew forward to attack.

"I activate my Negate Attack Trap," Alexis said, pressing a button on her duel disk to reveal her Trap, a barrier suddenly materializing in front of her monster to ward off Kaage's.

"You might have survived that round, but how much longer can you hold on, I wonder?" Kaage taunted as he inserted a reverse card into his duel disk before signaling the end of his turn.

"However long it takes to beat you, you freak," she snapped, drawing a card. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot so that we each draw three cards." They each drew three cards.

"And then I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown," the Cyber Girl duelist added and the mini-tornado spun across the field before sending Kaage's facedown flying into the air.

"Next, I'll summon Cyber Petit Angel in Defense Mode."

A little metallic pink angel with a golden halo around its head appeared on the field (A: 300/D: 200).

"And when this little fairy is summoned, I can add Machine Angel Ritual from my deck to my hand," she added, retrieving the card from her deck and then shuffling it. "I'll now activate it, Tributing my Cyber Prima and Cyber Petit Angel in order to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Dakini!"

Cyber Prima and Cyber Petit Angel were surrounded by a white light before they vanished. In their place now stood a blue-skinned woman wearing a golden head covering over her crimson hair, orange armor, and black and yellow form-fitting tights, wielding two long swords and a fighting staff in her four hands (A: 2700/D: 2400).

"Cyber Angel Dakini's effect activates," Alexis proclaimed. "When she's successfully Special Summoned, my opponent has to select and destroy one of their monsters."

"I'll go with Snoww," Kaage growled before said creature was suddenly blasted off of the field.

"And finally I'll activate my Rush Recklessly to increase my Cyber Angel's attack by 700."

Dakini was surrounded by a light as her power increased (A: 2700-3400).

"Now, Cyber Angel Dakini, attack Grapha!" Alexis ordered and her monster shot forward before striking the dragon-like Fiend with her various weapons, destroying him.

**Kaage: 800**

**Alexis: 1000**

"I end my turn," Alexis finished, unable to do much else since her hand was now empty (Dakini A: 3400-2700).

"Keep it up, sis," Atticus shouted.

"You almost have him beat, Lex," Jaden said, satisfied.

Kaage laughed. "Don't think for one instant that I'm done," he said with a smirk. After he drew his next card, he grinned even wider.

"I don't like that look," Jaden whispered.

"And you are going to like this even less. I am going to enjoy this, though. I activate Lightning Vortex and, by discarding a card, all of your monster's are destroyed, Alexis," Kaage said, inserting the card into his duel disk and discarding a card. Strikes of lightning surged downward, crashing into and obliterating Dakini.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Gateway to Dark World, in order to Special Summon Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World from my Graveyard."

Out of a dark portal reemerged the draconic demon with a mighty roar (A: 2700/D: 1800).

"And now Grapha, attack the girl directly and end this duel!" Kaage ordered with a sadistic smile.

"Alexis!" Jaden cried as the Fiend surged forward and struck Alexis hard, causing her to cry out in pain and sending her flying back to the ground.

**Kaage: 800 WINNER**

**Alexis: 0**

Kaage laughed as he raised his arm, the golden bracelet around his wrist glowed brightly and Jaden watched in horror as Alexis started glowing as well before a tiny orb of light came out of her body and surged toward Kaage. He, with his other hand, held up a diamond-shaped crystal that absorbed the tiny orb of light.

"One down, three more to go," Kaage said with a sinister grin as Jaden dashed to his girlfriend's side and knelt down beside her.

"Lex! C'mon, Lex, wake up!" Jaden shouted shaking Alexis's shoulders but she remained motionless, her eyes closed and her skin pale and covered in bruises and cuts from the attacks; she was breathing slowly and steadily, but remained motionless.

"Don't bother on trying to wake her up," Kaage purred, letting the crystal he had been holding fall back onto his chest. "She won't. I told you I would tear her soul from her body, and that is exactly what I did. She will not be the first. I will make you suffer before I kill you, little monster."

Jaden glared at him. "Not if I kill you first, you bastard," he snarled, golden eyes flaring.

"Try it. You will find that I am much more powerful than I was when we last met. Until we meet again, little monster." With another maniacal laugh, Kaage vanished into the shadows.

Jaden lowered his head and cradled his girlfriend's body close to him, feeling the tears he had been trying to repress—he refused to cry in front of the psychopath—start to fall from his eyes.

Chazz, Arina and Celina jogged over to Atticus and immediately freed him. He wasted no time running over to his sister's side as Kyle also knelt by Alexis, eyes wide with shock.

"Sis!" Atticus cried, dropping to his knees beside Alexis. "Oh God, sis!"

Jaden looked at Atticus and Kyle. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Kyle said immediately. "It's Kaage's. He's the one that took big sis's soul." He gripped his hand into a fist as he added, "And he will not get away with this."

Jaden continued to cradle his girlfriend's body in his arms, eyes closed as he took a few deep breaths, knowing losing control of his emotions was one of the reasons why all of this was happening.

"C'mon," he whispered finally. "We should…we should get Alexis to the hospital."

Raiden gazed at his brother, knowing full well that Jaden was trying to keep his emotions under control. He could understand why; it had been really hard to watch that.

Atticus pushed himself to his feet with one hand. "I should probably go to the hospital, too," he said, glancing at the broken fingers.

"Did he do that to you?" Kyle said.

Atticus nodded slowly.

"The bastard," Jaden muttered, lifting his girlfriend into his arms so that her head rested on his shoulder. He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. _I'll get you back, Lex, I promise you that I will. Kaage will not get away with this,_ he thought.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: wow, I do feel bad for what I put the Rhodes siblings through. Poor them**

**Bakura: it's your own fault**

**Blaze: shut it or I will go through with my plan to incorporate Darkshipping into my **_**You're Not Alone**_** story that I'm working on**

**Bakura: you wouldn't dare!**

**Blaze: actually, I've already decided to do that. I like that pairing**

**Bakura: how could you like **_**me **_**paired with that idiotic Pharaoh? I'd rather be paired with the tomb keeper!**

**Blaze: I like that pairing too**

**Marik: hi**

**Yami: hello**

**Bakura: (growls and yanks out chainsaw)**

**Marik: whoa, whoa, whoa, what did I do?**

**Bakura: not you, him! (Glares at Yami)**

**Blaze: (smacks Bakura with rolled up newspaper) no, no killing my favorite characters**

**Viper: hello**

**Slade Princeton: hello**

**Jagger Princeton: hello**

**Blaze: kill them instead**

**Bakura: (grins and charges after Viper, Slade and Jagger)**

**Viper, Slade and Jagger: (scream and take off running)**

**Chazz: I feel I should feel bad for them**

**Jesse: I pity all the characters that Blaze hates**

**Jaden: so do I**

**Blaze: well, that was chapter 9 and the next chapter, which is a non-dueling chapter, will be posted next Sunday or Monday and, as always, reviews are much appreciated.**


	10. Worries and Fears

**Well, I don't really count the ending of this chapter as a cliffhanger but I suppose it could be considered one. Either way, this is the first of two filler chapters before the second part of Revenge; the next chapter is important in terms of Chazz's part in this story (and in the rest of the series). But, about this chapter, don't really have much to say other than to enjoy it**

**Thank you to **_**StrawHatLuffy94, DarkZorua100, Guest, bobmanv2.0, dragonrider90, Kamen Rider Sting, EndlessNight025, decode9, a1993, reven228, Lightclaw's Shadow, Sorcerer of the Stories **_**and **_**iloveyugiohGX93**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys, as always, are the greatest.**

**Also, as usual, a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader.**

**So here is chapter ten (we are nine chapters away from the ending of this story) and I hope that you like it. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**10**

**Worries and Fears**

The gang left the warehouse in complete silence. The memory of what happened was haunting everyone's mind. Watching the soul of someone one cared about being taken from them was difficult to watch; it had been just as bad now as it had been when it happened to both Dr. Crowler and Zane.

Jaden was just cradling his girlfriend close, saying nothing and staring at nothing, barely aware of where he was going. He was too busy lost in his thoughts; he couldn't cry anymore over what happened. Now, he was focused on finding a way to get Alexis back; he knew that the obvious way was to defeat Kaage in a Shadow Duel. It would be dangerous, and he doubted there was anything else he could do, but he would do it.

Alexis didn't deserve what Kaage did to her. She was innocent.

_It should've been me. I was the one that caused all of this,_ Jaden thought.

'_Judai, we've been over this. It wasn't your fault,_' Yubel insisted.

Jaden didn't respond. While he may have told everyone that he thought they were right and he wasn't to blame for what happened, there was a part of him that still blamed himself for what happened. He couldn't help it.

Raiden glanced at his brother in concern. It was a change from the Jaden that Raiden was used to, but he could completely understand why his brother was as upset as he was. Who wouldn't be? Kyle and Atticus were just as upset and worried as Jaden was, though Atticus was also in pain as his fingers had been broken by the psychopath.

"Maybe we should call 911?" Celina suggested.

"We're gonna have to call Mom and Dad, too," Kyle said.

"How are we gonna explain what happened, though?" Jaden asked.

"Well, telling 'em the truth is outta the question," Raiden said. "Ya know Dad doesn't believe that Shadow Games exist."

"We don't have to tell him that," Kasumi said. "We can just tell everyone that Kaage forced Alexis to find and duel him by threatening Atticus. We wouldn't be lying."

"I never even knew Shadow Games existed, but this…" Celina trailed off, looking at Alexis's bruised and cut-covered body. She sighed. "…this proves that it does. Still, she needs medical attention. I think it'd be best if we call 911 and tell 'em what Kasumi suggested we tell 'em."

Raiden pulled out his phone and dialed 911, talking to them as Jaden looked down at Alexis whose head was resting gently on his shoulder. He stroked her cheek gently and pressed his lips to her forehead. _I'll kill Kaage for this and, this time, I'll make sure he can't come back,_ he thought, eyes flashing momentarily to gold before reverting back to brown.

Yubel gazed at him but said nothing.

"They're on their way," Raiden said. "I'll call Dad now and let him know we're heading to the hospital now."

"Okay," Jaden said.

**. . .**

A few hours went by. The gang was in the hospital, waiting for an update on Alexis's condition. Matt, Emily, Keith, Kaede and even Bakura were there—Bakura was likely making sure Celina was all right—the first two of whom were talking in low voices while Kaede was sitting with his children, watching Jaden, who was staring at nothing again. Celina was quietly talking to Bakura, who had asked what happened, though she left out the part about it being a Shadow Duel.

"So Alexis went after Kaage because he said he had Atticus and would kill him if Alexis didn't show up?" Kaede asked as Kasumi had just got done explaining what happened.

She nodded.

"Why didn't she call us or the police?" Matt asked.

"She was probably scared that Kaage would kill Atticus the instant he heard sirens. I mean, it's possible that he would do that 'cause he's a psychopath and all," Kyle said.

"Where did he go?" Emily asked.

"No idea. We were too concerned about Alexis and Atticus to really see where he went," Raiden said. It wasn't as if the gang could tell the adults that Kaage had, quite literally, vanished into thin air, or into the shadows, anyway.

The doctor walked into the lobby. "Which of you are Ms. Alexis Rhodes and Mr. Atticus Rhodes's parents?" she asked.

"We're their aunt and uncle," Emily said as she and Matt stood up. "We're watching over Alexis and her brother while they're here. How is Alexis? And Atticus?"

"Atticus is fine. His fingers will take some time to fully heal, so he'll have to keep them in a splint for a few weeks to a few months—I can't say for certain how long exactly—and try not to move them too much. However, he will make a full recovery. Alexis, on the other hand, is comatose. We don't know what caused it as nothing is showing up with our MRI scans and, aside from several bruises and shallow cuts, she has no other injuries. It's baffling, like what happened with Slade and Jagger Princeton and those four other people. There's little more we can do but watch for any changes in her condition."

"Can we see her?" Kyle asked.

The doctor seemed to think for a moment; then she nodded. "Only a few at a time, though, and not for very long," she said.

"And Atticus? Will he be allowed to leave soon?" Matt asked.

"Yes, we'll just need to go over the release forms and then he'll be able to leave," the doctor said.

"All right. We'll do that after we all see Alexis."

Naturally, Alexis's family went first. Emily left crying and murmuring, "I just wish we could've done something to protect her and prevent this from happening," while Matt just wrapped an arm around her shoulders, comforting her.

The Yukis went next. As soon as they entered the room, Jaden moved to Alexis's side, taking her hand in his and gently stroking her face with his free hand. He said nothing though; there was no point in saying anything. Alexis couldn't hear him anyway since her soul was gone.

_Damn you, Kaage,_ Jaden thought furiously.

'_I_ _should've made sure he was dead,_' Haou growled.

'_You_ _actually care about what he did to Alexis?_' Yubel asked.

'_Once again, despite common belief, I do have a heart. And Alexis isn't annoying like other people I deal with,_' Haou said. '_I'm looking forward to finishing the job, though._'

'Of course,' Yubel said. 'I guess you aren't completely as you were in the past.'

'_Took_ _you long enough to figure that out,_' Haou growled.

"Jaden, we've gotta go," Kaede said softly from the doorway. "We can come visit her tomorrow, okay?"

Jaden nodded and leaned forward before kissing Alexis on the cheek. "I love you, Lex," he whispered, though he knew his girlfriend couldn't hear him. He stood and walked out of the room after his dad; Kasumi and Raiden following him.

Chazz and Arina briefly visited Alexis as well, but Celina didn't. "I don't know her that well," she said quietly. "I hope that she's all right, though."

"I'm sure she will be," Bakura said gently.

_Not until Kaage is defeated, _Jaden thought.

Celina walked over to Kyle. "Will you let me know if she wakes up?" she asked, placing a piece of paper in Kyle's hands.

Kyle looked at the paper, which had Celina's number on it, and he nodded before putting the paper into his pocket. "I'll let you know," he said.

"Thank you," Celina said before she walked over to join Bakura and the two of them left the hospital.

"We should head back to the hotel now," Kaede said once Chazz and Arina joined them.

The gang nodded and left the hospital as sullenly as they entered it.

**. . .**

_"Is he awake yet?"_

_"No. I don't know what happened. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him but, for some reason, he won't wake up."_

_"Have you contacted his father yet?"_

_"Yes, he is coming home now. He should be arriving within a few hours. How is his mother doing?"_

_"Recovering. She was lucky. Had that knife been only a centimeter lower, it's doubtful she would have survived."_

_"I hope that the murderer who did this to them is caught soon. What happens if he strikes again? We're not safe until he's caught."_

_"I doubt he stayed behind after attacking. Izumi, Jaden, and Raiden are lucky to be alive, especially after what happened to the others."_

_"Yeah. I'm surprised there isn't a single wound on Jaden, though. Both Izumi and her eldest son sustained injuries, but not her youngest."_

_"It is strange, especially considering he's comatose right now and we have no idea what caused that. Look, I think he might be waking up."_

_"You're right."_

_There was a bright white light as Jaden's eyes cracked open, slowly, his mind replaying what he overheard the doctors saying. The news that his mother was alive—which was a relief—the fact that he, his mother and his brother were, apparently, the only ones who survived what happened to Kaage Naka and his brother and friends and the fact that no one seemed to be blaming him for what happened._

_He didn't understand._

_Unlike the last time, where he had lost complete awareness when Haou took over, this time he was aware of everything he did and he was shocked to learn that no one was blaming him._

_'_That is because I took care of any and all evidence that linked you with the crime, Judai,_' Yubel's gentle voice echoed in Jaden's mind._ _'_I did not want you to pay for what Haou made you do, so I made sure that wouldn't happen._'_

_"You're awake," the doctor said as Jaden blinked a few times and then gazed around._

_"Where's Mom and Raiden?" he asked._

_"Your mother is in recovery right now and your brother is in the room next to you. They're both all right," the doctor said gently. "How do you feel? Anything hurt?"_

_Jaden shook his head slowly and closed his eyes. The memory of what happened came to him and he had to push it away because he still felt that what happened was his fault._

_"Get some rest, Jaden. If your brother feels up to it later, we'll let him in to see you, okay?" the doctor said._

_"Okay." Jaden lied back down, but did not go back to sleep._

**. . .**

Jaden's eyes fluttered open and he gazed at the ceiling above his head, his mind replaying his most recent dream. It wasn't a nightmare but it was one dream that kept on recurring in his mind; the time he had spent in the hospital following what happened to Kaage and his companions.

_Why did I have that dream? Is it my mind trying to reassure me that what happened back then wasn't my fault? I know that, though,_ he thought.

'_You do know that_, _Judai, but a part of you still blames yourself. You cannot hide that from me. We're connected, remember, Judai? That feeling of guilt has only grown after what happened to Alexis,_' Yubel said quietly.

Jaden sighed as he sat up. "I can't help it, Yubel. None of this would've happened had I not lost control over nine years ago," he said.

'_Yes, but remember, Judai, your powers were unstable and they were making your emotions unstable. Haou and I were doing our best to stabilize your emotions so that no one would notice something was wrong, but what happened with Kaage happened too soon after what happened with those kidnappers for us to make much progress,_' Yubel reminded him.

"I know," Jaden said quietly, crossing his legs on his bed and closing his eyes. He evened out his breathing as he tried to relax his entire body. Meditation was one of the ways that Yubel said would help him to control his emotions and, in turn, control his powers. He had gained a pretty strong control over his powers when he and Haou merged during the duel against Kagemaru; however, his powers were also governed by his emotions and if his emotions got out of control, what happened to the kidnappers and what happened to Kaage and his companions could happen again.

Jaden was determined to not let that happen.

He rarely meditated, but it did help, especially now with how chaotic his anger at Kaage and his sadness and guilt for what happened to Alexis. He couldn't help feeling guilty. The girl that he loved was lying in a coma in the hospital and it was because of this lunatic, who targeted Alexis only because she was close to Jaden.

'_That_ _is not your fault, Judai,_' Yubel said.

"I know. I just wish I could've been able to protect her," Jaden said quietly.

Yubel placed a transparent hand on Jaden's shoulder. She knew that was the main reason why Jaden felt guilty; he felt guilty for being unable to protect his girlfriend from the madman who wanted to hurt him in any way possible.

"Yubel, I'm scared," Jaden said, turning to gaze at his guardian spirit. "What happens if he goes after someone else I care about? One of my friends, Kasumi, Raiden. I don't want any of them to get hurt."

'_I_ _know, Judai,_' Yubel said gently. '_There's_ _no predicting what Kaage will do. The only thing we can do is watch and wait. We'll get him, though, Judai._'

"I hope so."

**. . .**

Raiden walked over to join Chazz. "Hey, Chazz," he greeted the Ojama duelist as he sat down next to him in the lobby of the hotel.

Chazz glanced at him. "Hey," he murmured.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

Raiden didn't believe that. "You seem worried," he said.

"Well, we've got a madman out there who has it in for Jaden and already took out Alexis and there's no telling if he'll be coming after us, too, why shouldn't I be worried?" Chazz snapped.

"Hey, no need to get snippy, Chazz. I was just asking," Raiden said defensively. "Believe me, I'm worried, too." He glanced toward where Jaden was sitting, gazing out the window and talking quietly with Yubel, who was floating beside him. "I'm especially worried about Jaden."

Chazz followed Raiden's gaze before he shrugged. "Can't say I blame him for being worried," he said. His eyes traveled to Arina, who was talking with Celina and Kyle nearby and he said nothing more. He did fear that what happened to Alexis would happen to Arina or any of his other friends.

_Friends?_

Chazz wondered when he started seeing the others as friends rather than simply acquaintances.

He had never been one to be really open about anything, especially what he was feeling. He had started opening up only when he started dating Arina, but only a little bit. He still had a wall crafted around his heart; he had built it to keep his emotions in check so that he could focus on being what his brothers wanted him to be. When his brother's disowned him, he had strengthened that wall to keep out everyone, a part of him afraid of being hurt again. Arina was the only one who had managed to get past that wall.

And yet it seemed as though he was starting to gradually let others in, even if they didn't realize it. In the past, Chazz would never have opened up, even though it was only a little bit, to anyone, especially not someone he barely knew as he had only met Raiden soon after the Admiral incident.

_What changed?_

Chazz didn't know the answer to that.

Could it simply be him dating Arina was starting helping with that? Or was it because he was finally allowed to be himself, no longer under the pressure his brothers had placed upon him?

Thinking about his brothers made Chazz wonder exactly what happened to them. He may not like them anymore, and they may not see him as a member of their family anymore, but having one's soul taken from them was a fate Chazz wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. He had to wonder why Kaage, if it was Kaage who had done this to Slade and Jagger, though Chazz was pretty sure it was, targeted Slade and Jagger.

_Is it just because he's a psychopath? Or could it be that this Kaage knows I'm…friends, sorta, with Jaden?_ Chazz wondered. Another thought came to him then. _The real question is why did he choose to attack two well-known people and four random people?_

"…couldn't believe that…Chazz, are you even listening to me?"

Chazz blinked, pulling himself from his thoughts before looking at Raiden. "What?" he said.

"I'll take that as a no," Raiden said. "You seem distracted."

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

Chazz scowled; just because he had started opening up to others didn't mean he was comfortable with it or would do so all the time. "None of your business," he snapped.

"Okay, okay, gees, I was just asking," Raiden said with a frown. "Look, Chazz, if ya don't wanna talk about it, I get it, but maybe it'll help. I mean, better than just keeping it all bottled in, right?"

"When did you become a therapist?"

The older Yuki chuckled. "Judai said the same thing," he commented.

Atticus walked over to join them and sat down next to Raiden. "Hey," he greeted them sullenly. Ever since Alexis's soul was taken, Atticus had been rather sullen and no longer quite as hyper and happy as he had been at the beginning of the trip.

"Hey, Atticus, how are ya?" Raiden asked.

"Better, my fingers still hurt but the docs say that'll last for a few weeks at least," Atticus said, resting the hand with the splinted fingers on his lap.

Chazz stood up and walked away as Raiden started talking with Atticus. He glanced over at Jaden and Yubel who were still talking with each other, Yubel's hand was resting on Jaden's shoulder.

'_Poor guy_,' Ojama Yellow said, appearing on Chazz's shoulder. '_That was just so sad what happened to Alexis._'

Chazz didn't respond. Instead, he wandered over to join Arina. She smiled at him. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," the Ojama duelist replied.

Arina took his hand in hers before looking at Celina. "So when are you leaving?" she asked.

"Well, Bakura and I are heading back to California in a few days to finish the visa paperwork and all that. It'll still take a few weeks, if not months, but I'm hoping to be in Japan by the time school starts," Celina said. "I'm looking forward to attending Duel Academy."

"So you decided to attend?"

"Yup. Bakura thinks it'll be good for me and since the Princetons doubt my ability to make it in the Pros, I'm going to learn more to prove 'em wrong, that's supposing…" She trailed off and glanced toward Chazz, who waved his hand dismissively.

"Supposing they wake up," he finished for her.

"You don't sound that upset by what happened to your brothers," Celina said.

'_He's crying on the inside,_' Ojama Yellow said.

Chazz glowered at the duel spirit. "I am not!" He snapped. And he wasn't, crying on the inside, that was. He was upset because of the unfortunate fate that befell them, but he was also wondering what Kaage could possibly gain by attacking Slade and Jagger. Crazy or not, it just seemed odd that he would choose to attack them, two people who were well known, whereas his other attacks, before the one on Alexis, were on random people.

Of course, it was possible that he did know the people he attacked, but Chazz found he didn't believe that.

'_Okay, okay, you aren't, but you are upset,_' Ojama Yellow said.

Chazz didn't respond to Ojama Yellow's words.

"What's in your head, Chazz?" Arina asked.

Chazz decided against correcting her. "I'm just thinking. We know Kaage's crazy, but it just doesn't make sense that he would attack my brothers, who are rather well-known, as well as four random people," he said instead.

"Makes sense to me," Celina said.

Chazz shook his head. "Something's just off about the reasoning behind this. Kaage may be a psychopath, but it seems to me that his attack on Slade and Jagger was…planned."

"And just where are you getting that idea from?" Arina asked, confused.

Chazz sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know," he said irritably. "I just don't think a psychopath would be picky about who he is attacking. Not to mention, from what Celina told us, unlike the other random people Kaage attacked, Slade and Jagger were found in their hotel room. That doesn't sound like something someone who just chose Slade and Jagger on a spur of the moment would do, at least not to me."

"That does actually make some sense," Celina commented thoughtfully.

"It does. Huh, you would make a good detective, Chazz," Arina said brightly.

"Why the sudden interest, though?"

Chazz shrugged. "It's just something I noticed," he said.

"Oh."

**. . .**

Jaden sat beside Alexis's bed, her hand resting gently in his. It was getting close to the end of visiting hours two days since the duel in the warehouse. Jaden wasn't there alone. His dad had come with him, though he was waiting outside the room. Jaden was thankful for the privacy, though it wasn't as if there was anything he could do but talk to Alexis, even though he knew she wouldn't hear him. Despite that, he still spoke.

"I'm sorry about this, Lex," he said quietly. "I know you don't blame me for what Haou did but I do blame myself for what happened to you. Kaage took out his anger and his desire for vengeance against me on you and that wasn't fair. You're innocent. You didn't do anything to him."

He sighed and added, "Well, he's a psychopath, so I guess he doesn't even care that you didn't do anything. He did attack the assholes and those four other random people. But still…" He trailed off and leaned forward before pressing his lips softly against Alexis's, even though he knew she couldn't feel it.

"I love you, Lex, and I miss you," he said quietly, touching his forehead to Alexis's and interlocking the fingers of his right hand, the one with the little friendship bracelet Alexis had given him for his sixteenth birthday around the wrist, with Alexis's hand.

"I promise you, Lex, I will find a way to get you back. I will do anything to get you back," he whispered. "I won't let Kaage get away with this." He closed his eyes, feeling a few tears leak out of his eyes, but he hastily wiped them away with his free hand.

"It's time to go, Jaden," Kaede called quietly from the doorway.

Jaden nodded before kissing Alexis's forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow," he said quietly before he released Alexis's hand and followed his dad out of the room.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Jaden," Kaede said.

Jaden didn't respond.

Kaede sighed. "I'm sorry," he said.

"It wasn't your fault, Dad, it was Kaage's."

"I know, but this is partially my fault, Jaden."

Jaden glanced questioningly at his dad.

He led them to their rented car and climbed into it while Jaden got in on the passenger's side. "I want you to be careful, Jaden," he said, not answering Jaden's unspoken question, glancing at Jaden out of the corner of his eye as he turned the car on. "I strongly suggest you don't leave the hotel until Kaage is caught. I fear that he will go after you and Raiden and Kasumi."

_Of that, I have no doubt. But I doubt he will go after me right away, _Jaden thought. "Have you told Raiden and Kasumi that?" he asked.

"Not yet."

Jaden nodded and the car turned around the corner. _Why didn't he tell them?_ He wondered silently.

'_Judai,_' Yubel said suddenly, worriedly.

_What is it? _Jaden thought.

'_Something's_ _wrong,_' Yubel said gravelly.

_Is it Kaage?_

'_I_ _don't know, but I get the feeling we're being watched,_' Yubel said.

Jaden frowned. Now that he thought about it, he was getting the same feeling. _Do you think it's Kaage?_ he thought.

'_Who_ _else would it be? Just be careful, Judai,_' Yubel said.

_I know, Yubel, I know. I don't think he'll go after me, though, not now. He said he wanted to make me suffer, remember?_

'_Yes_ _and there are plenty of ways he can do that. What he did to Alexis was one way, after all,_' Yubel said.

_I know. I'm trying not to let it bother me. I don't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing his plan work,_ Jaden thought.

'_That_ _is the best thing you can do,_' Yubel said. She then froze and hissed, '_Judai, look out!_'

The car came out of nowhere, not allowing Jaden time to respond, crashing into the side of the rental car they were in. Jaden gasped in pain as he was thrown against the passenger's door, his head hit the window hard. The last thing he heard was someone screaming his name and then there was nothing but darkness.

**. . .**

'_Kasumi?_'

Kasumi looked up to find Shire hovering anxiously in front of her, her eyes were filled with uncertainty and fear. "What is it, Shire?" she asked.

'_I feel…something terrible has happened,_' Shire said.

"What?"

'_I don't know. I just…have a bad feeling,_' Shire admitted.

Raiden walked over to join Kasumi in the dining room. "Hey, have you heard from Jaden or Dad?" he asked.

"No, why?" Kasumi asked.

"Well, visiting hours for the hospital ended half an hour ago and we aren't that far away from it. They should've been back by now," Raiden said.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Kasumi said.

Chazz hurried into the room. "You guys, you should come, quick," he said.

"Why? What's going on?" Kasumi asked.

"There's been an accident not far from here," Chazz explained. "A hit and run by the looks of it."

"Why does that have to do with us?" Kasumi asked.

"The car that was hit looks exactly like the one Jaden and his Dad were in."

Kasumi's eyes went wide with fear and she and Raiden jumped to their feet and hurried after Chazz toward the lobby where the news report was being aired on the television.

"_The culprit behind this hit and run accident has already left the scene, but police are out searching for whoever is responsible for it. Thankfully, the two occupants of the crash will live. Their names have been left hidden for their own privacy,_" the news reporter was saying at the scene of the crash.

"Maybe it wasn't them," Raiden suggested weakly.

A chuckle sounded around them, causing Chazz to jump and Kasumi and Raiden to start before they looked around but they were the only ones in the area.

"That was entertaining. It's a good thing they survived; seeing them in pain is so entertaining," Kaage's familiar voice echoed around them.

"You are a sick freak, Kaage," Kasumi snarled, clenching her hands into fists. When she felt them heat up, she quickly focused on her breathing to calm herself down before her fists burst into flames.

A laugh sounded and then: "You should be thankful they both survived. After all, it would ruin my fun if the little monster and his precious father were to die before I had the chance to kill the little monster myself," Kaage said and then, with another laugh, the voice was gone.

"Psychopathic sadistic bastard," Chazz said with a shake of his head.

"We should tell the others," Raiden said. "At least they survived."

Kasumi nodded in agreement before looking at Shire, who was sitting on her shoulder, still looking worried. "Did this have anything to do with the bad feeling you were having?" she asked.

'_I'm still having that bad feeling, Kasumi,_' Shire said uncertainly. '_I just…I don't think this was what that bad feeling was warning me about 'cause I'm still having that bad feeling. I'm sorry_.'

"It's not your fault, Shire," Kasumi assured her duel spirit. _Just what exactly is Kaage going to do next? _She felt fear flood through her, but she couldn't help it. She was scared of what the psychopath would do next and just who else would end up getting hurt before Kaage was stopped.

**. . .**

Jaden cracked his eyes open before closing them when they were blinded by bright fluorescent lights shining down on them. It took a few minutes before his eyes adjusted and then he recognized where he was; he was in a hospital room.

'_Judai?_'

Jaden turned to see Yubel floating beside him. '_Are_ _you okay?_' she asked.

"My head hurts. What happened?" Jaden asked.

'_Do_ _you remember the accident?_'

Jaden blinked, wracking his memory before he nodded, which only caused his head to start throbbing. "Ow!" _Note to self: don't nod just yet, _he thought, resting a hand on his head.

'_Someone_ _hit your car and then sped off. You've been unconscious for a few hours,_' Yubel said.

Jaden blinked again and then looked around before concern flashed through him. "Wait, what about Dad?" he asked.

Yubel shook her head. '_I_ _don't know. The doctors haven't said anything about him yet,_' she said.

As if on cue, the door to the room opened and the doctor walked into the room. "You're awake. That's good," she said, marking something on her clipboard. "How do you feel?"

"Where's my dad?" Jaden asked instead.

"He's all right, Mr. Yuki. He had a few fractured bones in his arm and his ribs and some head trauma, but nothing extremely serious. He'll recover. Now, how do you feel?" the doctor asked.

"Like someone is hitting my head repeatedly with a duel disk," Jaden groaned, clutching at his head.

"Well, you did hit your head pretty hard. You're lucky you didn't have any severe head trauma as a result," the doctor said, marking something else on her clipboard before she put it down and walked to Jaden's side. "We're going to keep you overnight for observation. It's simply a precaution since head injuries are tricky."

"And my dad?"

"He'll also remain overnight for observation."

"Can I call my friends?"

"If you wish. Someone left you a note while you were asleep, by the way," the doctor said, holding out the piece of paper toward Jaden, who took it and opened it, reading it quietly to himself.

_I never knew revenge could be so much fun, little monster._

_You survived this time, just as I knew you would, but when I do officially try to kill you, I will succeed, but not until after I take from you more people that you care about, whether it be their lives or their souls._

_My revenge has only just begun, little monster. And it will not end until you are dead._

The note was left unsigned.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was chapter 10**

**Jaden: (turns on lightsaber) so only nine chapters left?**

**Blaze: yup**

**Jesse: (also turns on lightsaber) anything else you want to tell us?**

**Blaze: none that I can think of**

**Bakura: (ignites double-bladed lightsaber) no question?**

**Blaze: couldn't think of any**

**Chazz: (ignites double-bladed lightsaber) well, all right then**

**Blaze: wait, why do you have lightsabers?**

**Viper: hello**

**Trapper: hello**

**Jaden, Jesse, Bakura and Chazz: CHARGE! (Charges at Viper and Trapper)**

**Viper and Trapper: (scream and take off running)**

**Blaze: ah, that's why. I don't own **_**Star Wars**_**. Well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be posted next Sunday or Monday and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	11. Midnight

**Well, here is chapter eleven. After this chapter, there will only be one filler chapter in between each duel chapter. And we are only eight chapters away from the end. I'm happy about that but also not so much, I guess you could say, and that's only 'cause I'm stuck on how to continue **_**White Radiance **_**but I'll figure it out. :)**

**Anyway, thank you to **_**SuperNeos2, dragonrider90, bobmanv2.0, DarkZorua100, EndlessNight025, decode9, a1993, weather741, Kamen Rider Sting, iloveyugiohGX93, Lightclaw's Shadow **_**and **_**Sorcerer of the Stories **_**for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**Oh and thank you to _EndlessNight025_ for being an awesome beta-reader as always.**

**Well, I do hope that you enjoy this chapter and, yes, there is a **_**slight **_**cliffhanger and the next chapter will be the second of the last five duels of this story. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**11**

**Midnight**

Jaden and his dad were released from the hospital the following evening. The doctors only advised them to take it easy and that Kaede shouldn't drive for a while until the headaches subsided. Jaden, too, was experiencing headaches often since he woke up, but he figured that was because of how hard he had hit his head on the window.

Emily had picked them up as she had been visiting Alexis anyway.

"I'm glad you two are all right," she said as she guided the car out of the parking lot and began driving toward the hotel.

"Other than the occasional headache, but the doctor's say it could've been so much worse," Kaede said.

"Thank God it isn't," Emily said. "Raiden and Kasumi have been worried since they saw the accident on the news. At least Jaden was able to call them to let them know you two were all right."

Kaede nodded. "Any news on the person who hit us?" he asked.

Emily nodded. "Turns out they had just run a red light and hadn't been paying attention," she said.

Jaden looked at the note that had been left for him and closed his eyes. _I guess he wasn't behind it, _he thought.

'_Yes. I agree that it probably was an accident and Kaage just happened to be watching,_' Yubel said.

_I suppose when I thought it was his fault, it's because I feel I'm starting to get a bit paranoid,_ Jaden thought.

'_All_ _things considered, I'm not surprised._'

Jaden crumpled up the note before stuffing it into the pocket of his pants as the car drew to a stop in front of the hotel. The three of them got out and headed into the hotel, where Kaede and Jaden were immediately confronted by Kasumi.

"Are you two all right?" she asked, worry etched into her face.

"We're okay, Kasumi," Kaede assured his daughter.

"Jaden?" Kasumi glanced at Jaden.

"I'm fine, Kas," Jaden said softly. _At least from the accident._

"Kasumi, would you go find your brother and tell him to meet us in our room?" Kaede asked suddenly, causing Jaden to glance at his dad wonderingly.

"Sure, I think he and Atticus are in Atticus's room. Why?" Kasumi asked.

"'There's something I've got to tell you three and I think it would be best if I do so now," Kaede said.

"All right." Kasumi left, though with an air of confusion around her.

Jaden couldn't help but feel confused as well.

Sometime later, the Yukis found themselves in the room Jaden and Raiden shared with their dad. Kaede told them to sit down and started pacing, as if trying to figure out how to start whatever he wanted to tell them.

"Do you have any idea what this is about?" Raiden asked.

Jaden shook his head. "He did say something about warning you two to not leave the hotel," he said.

"Because of Kaage?"

"He didn't tell me why, but that's probably the reason," Jaden said with a shrug.

Kasumi pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "Makes sense that he'd want to prevent what happened to Alexis from happening to us," she said._ Of course he doesn't know that Kaage can still get in here and kidnap us like he did with Alexis, _she thought but knew there was no point in saying that since her adopted dad wouldn't believe her anyway.

Kaede sighed and turned to them. "That's the main reason why I don't want you three to leave the hotel until Kaage is caught," he said. "But I actually wanted to talk to you about Kaage."

"What about him?"

"I want to talk to you about why I think he's coming after us," Kaede said.

Jaden frowned, wondering what his dad was talking about.

Raiden voiced what he was thinking out loud. "What are you talking about, Dad?" he asked.

"I knew Kaage," Kaede said. "Not well, but I did know him and his brother and their friends. You see, back when I was working with the police force before I quit, we had apprehended Kaage Naka and his brother and their companions and arrested them for a crime. However, the only evidence we had was the testimony of a witness that the brothers' attorney didn't believe was reliable. Still, they were convicted and spent several years in prison before they were released. Before they were sentenced, Kaage vowed to get revenge on me since I was the one who had arrested him. That is the reason why he orchestrated you two being kidnapped, Jaden, Raiden."

"Wait, what?" Jaden frowned. "What do you mean he orchestrated our kidnapping? How do you know that?"

"Because it was Kaage who called us and told us where you two were and what would happen to you unless we sent someone to negotiate with the kidnappers. None of us knew that it was a trap, though," Kaede explained.

"So, Kaage was behind us being kidnapped? And just when I thought I couldn't hate the bastard more than I already do," Jaden muttered. Raiden placed an arm around his younger brother's shoulder before looking at his dad.

"So why are you telling us this now, Dad?" he asked.

"To apologize," Kaede said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Dad. You were just doing your job," Kasumi said assuredly.

Besides, that is not why Kaage is doing this, Jaden thought.

'It could be, Judai. He could want to kill two birds with one stone and get his revenge on both you and your father,' Yubel pointed out in his mind.

He thought about that for a moment and realized that if Kaage really was seeking vengeance against his dad as well as him, then Yubel was probably right.

**. . .**

_"Mommy! Mommy!"_

_A slim black-haired woman turned before kneeling down in front of a tiny three-year-old Chazz. "What's the matter, Chazz?" she asked gently, wiping away Chazz's tears._

_"I had a bad dream," the little boy whimpered, tears in his dark eyes._

_The woman gently lifted him into her arms. "It's all right, little one, it's all right. It was just a dream," she said gently, rocking the boy until his crying died away. While that was happening, she turned toward two boys who were standing nearby._

_"Slade, Jagger, could you take your brother back to his room?" she asked._

_"All right, Mom," Slade said, walking forward and taking Chazz's little hand in his as his mother put him on the ground._

_"Mommy? Where you goin'?" Chazz whimpered._

_His mother smiled gently at him. "I just have an errand to run. I'll be back in an hour, if not less," she said. "Get some sleep, Chazz."_

_"Okay, love you, Mommy."_

_"I love you, too."_

_Chazz let his brothers guide him away, unaware that was the last time he would ever be seeing his mother._

_The following day, Slade would be receiving the news about the car accident that took his mother's life. He and Jagger spent the next hour trying to calm Chazz down and assure him that everything would be all right._

Chazz blinked as he sat up on his bed. It had been a while, years in fact, since he had last thought about the last time he had spoken to his mother and how his brothers had comforted him and helped him to get over their mother's death. Back when he was younger, his brothers had actually acted the way brothers should.

What changed?

When exactly did Slade and Jagger start caring more about world domination than their own family?

He rested his head back on his pillow, not knowing the answer to that. He thought, not for the first time, about Jaden's relationship with his own brother, and felt that spark of jealousy go through him. He still wished he could have that kind of relationship, but it was not to be; his brothers didn't want him and hadn't done anything to make Chazz change his mind about that matter.

_Could I maybe talk to them if they wake up? No, if they had changed their minds about disowning me as they did then they should've told me. I won't go to 'em, I don't need 'em,_ Chazz thought firmly.

Despite telling himself that and while he may not need his brothers, a part of him did long for family and a home, for brothers or siblings who actually cared about him.

He pushed those feelings away and sat up. He had been thinking a lot about this since learning that his brothers were in Honolulu with him and it was starting to get repetitive.

His mind went to Celina and he wondered if Slade and Jagger had been attempting to replace him with her; she did say that they had offered to adopt her. Though she turned them down, it still hurt to hear that they had done that. They hadn't even told him that they were planning on doing that.

Truth be told, Chazz wouldn't have minded a younger niece.

Sighing when he realized that his mind was just too awake for him to get any rest, he swung his legs off his bed and stood up. Grabbing a shirt, his shoes and his coat—since he rarely went anywhere without it—he put them on and left his room. He didn't know where he was going; maybe he would just walk around the hotel for a while until he got tired.

The gang had decided that it would be best to stay in the hotel for the time being until Kaage was caught so that what happened to Atticus and Alexis wouldn't happen to one of them. The police were still combing the city for Kaage, but, so far, there were no new leads. It wasn't as if Chazz or anyone could tell them that Kaage had spoken to them the way that he had soon after the accident; the police would think they were crazy.

He slipped into the elevator and rode it to the bottom floor of the hotel. When he left the elevator, he was surprised to find that the lobby wasn't quite as empty as he thought it would be at that time of night.

"You're up early. You're usually out cold by now, slacker," he said, walking into the lobby where Jaden was seated on the couch, gazing through the window as shafts of moonlight drifted through the glass, illuminating Jaden's face.

"Couldn't sleep," Jaden said, turning to look at Chazz. "What about you?"

"Same," the Ojama duelist replied.

"Mm, you can sit, if ya want."

Chazz sat down on the couch and the two sat in silence for several long minutes.

"I can't stop thinking about what happened to Alexis," Jaden said, breaking the silence as he returned his gaze to the window. "I mean, where did Kaage get that ability?"

"I'm guessing that golden bracelet he was wearing. Where he got a Shadow Charm, I have no idea, though."

"I have no idea, either." Jaden trailed off and remained silent for a long moment. "I'm afraid that what happened to Alexis will happen to someone else I care about."

"Can't blame you."

Jaden drew his knees onto the couch and wrapped his arms around and rested his chin on them. "Kaage left me a note," he said.

Chazz glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "A note? Really?"

"Yeah, he basically just said that he was going to take more people away from me like he did with Alexis." Jaden was silent for a moment, then he said, "And I just learned that he was behind what happened to me and Raiden when we were little."

Chazz raised an eyebrow. "You mean when you were kidnapped?" he asked.

"Yeah. Dad told us he was behind it. He told us because he thinks that's why Kaage is after us. Yubel thinks he wants to kill two birds with one stone; get his revenge on both me and Dad at the same time."

"Wouldn't surprise me."

Jaden was silent for a moment, then: "Chazz, can I ask you something?"

"What?" Chazz asked.

"Are you worried?"

"Hmph, your brother asked me the same question. Like I told him, with this psycho running around, why shouldn't I be worried?"

"Yeah, I guess that was a rather stupid question. I am, too, but I'm also scared." Jaden kept his gaze fixed on the window as he said those words.

"Well, if I had a madman coming after me, I'd be scared too," Chazz said. "Not that I am 'cause I'm not." He was lying; he was scared, but he didn't want to admit it.

Jaden cast him a sidelong look that suggested he didn't believe him, but he didn't call him out on it. Instead, he said, "I'm mostly scared about Raiden and Kasumi. Kaage seems to know exactly where to strike to hurt me the most. He took my girlfriend and I'm afraid that he'll go after Raiden and Kasumi next."

"I'm not surprised. They are your family," Chazz said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Jaden released his knees and folded them beneath him as he turned to face the Ojama duelist. "What's the matter?" he asked, hearing the bitterness.

"Nothing," Chazz said shortly, looking away.

Jaden raised an eyebrow, not believing him. "Well, if you don't wanna talk about it, I won't make you," he said, turning his gaze back to the window.

Chazz bit his lip. He didn't want to reveal the reason why he was so bitter when he talked about family; he didn't exactly have that great of a family himself. His parents were dead, his brothers could care less about him. It wasn't the picture perfect family that Jaden seemed to have.

Once again, a spark of jealousy went through him.

"You're lucky," he said.

Jaden looked at him, confused. "Lucky? I wouldn't count myself lucky right now," he said.

"No, I mean you're lucky that you have a family," Chazz said. "You have people who care about you."

Jaden sighed. "Yeah, and Kaage is using that against me," he said. "But you make it sound like you don't have people who care about you, Chazz. What about Arina?"

Chazz pressed his lips together before just deciding to come out and say what was on his mind. "Well, duh, she's my girlfriend and I know that she cares, slacker. I just meant that I don't have what you have."

"What I have? What do you mean?"

Chazz scowled. "A family, slacker," he snapped. "You have a family who actually cares about you." That time, he could not keep the jealous-tone out of his voice.

Jaden blinked. _Is he jealous?_ he thought.

Chazz folded his arms across his chest, not sure why he was talking as much as he was, but he went on because it felt good to finally get his thoughts off his chest. "I see how you interact with your dad and your siblings and I can't help but wish I had that kind of relationship. I'm jealous, okay? I'm jealous of what you have with your own siblings. I'm jealous that I don't have a family that cares about me as much as your family cares about you."

He fell silent, feeling strangely light now that he had finally gotten that off his chest. His feelings of jealousy had been simmering beneath the surface for months now, only coming out whenever he thought too much about how different his relationship with his brothers was compared to Jaden's relationship with his siblings.

Jaden continued to gaze at him, silent, contemplative.

"Chazz, you do have that. I care about you."

Chazz turned to stare at the brunet in surprise and confusion.

Jaden gave him a small smile. "Family is about more than just blood, Chazz, it's also about choice. Just look at Kasumi. My parents, Raiden, and I aren't related to her by blood, but she is still family. And I see you as family too, like a foster brother."

Chazz continued to stare at him, stunned by his rival's words, the same rival whom he hadn't treated very well during the first half of their first year at Duel Academy.

Jaden stood up and yawned. "Well, I'll leave you to think about that. I think all this talking has tired me out. Maybe I'll be able to get some sleep now. Night, Chazz."

"Yeah, night," Chazz murmured distractedly, his thoughts churning in his head as the E-Hero duelist walked toward the elevator, leaving Chazz alone with his thoughts.

**. . .**

Kyle was pacing.

"Will you stop pacing, Kyle?" Keith said with a sigh.

"Sorry, but I'm just agitated," Kyle said, throwing himself into an armchair. "I miss Alexis."

"You ain't the only one, Kyle, but I'm sure she'll be all right."

Kyle didn't believe that but, since Keith didn't know the true story behind what happened to Alexis, he didn't know what was really wrong with her. "I hope that they catch Kaage soon," he said instead.

Keith leaned back against the armchair he was in. "I agree. Mom and Dad are pretty worried themselves. There's been no change in Alexis's condition," he said.

Kyle clenched his hand into a fist. "After what happened to Alexis and Atticus, I'm scared of what will happen next, especially since that psycho hasn't been caught yet," he said quietly.

Keith stood up before walking over to the armchair and placing a hand on Kyle's shoulder. "I know, I am, too," he said. "I'm planning on going to meet up with Joey and the others. Do you want to come with?"

Kyle shook his head. He didn't mind Joey and the others, though it wouldn't be all the others since Bakura and Celina had left the day before so that they could start working on Celina's stay overseas, but he just didn't feel up to it right now.

"All right." Keith straightened before turning around and walking out of the hotel room.

Kyle sighed and closed his eyes. He remained that way for a few minutes before his phone vibrated, indicating that he had a text.

Reaching over for his phone, Kyle looked at it, frowning when he noticed it was a text coming from Alexis's number. He briefly recalled that the gang had never grabbed Alexis's phone when they left the warehouse.

He opened the text, reading it to himself.

[_Do you want your cousin's soul back?_]

Of course Kyle did and he said as much in the text he sent back. The reply came only a few minutes after he sent his text.

[_Then come and get it, if you can beat me, that is. One hour, where we last met. Do not tell the police._]

Kyle pressed his lips together as he gazed at the last text before he closed his phone and closed his eyes, wondering what he should do. He wanted to get Alexis's soul back but he knew that it was risky; he could be walking straight into a trap.

And yet, what else was he supposed to do?

His phone vibrated again and he opened it before reading the text.

[_If you tell the police, I will ensure that you never get your cousin's soul back._]

Kyle decided that it was definitely going to be a trap. It wasn't as if the police could help. The only way to get Alexis's soul back was to defeat the duelist who took it; at least, that's what Kyle figured given what happened with Camula.

He pressed his lips together as he thought about whether to go through with this or not. It would be risky and he would be putting his own soul on the line, but he had to try. Beating Kaage would mean saving the souls of who knows how many others, including his cousin's.

His mind made up, Kyle stood up, grabbed his deck and borrowed his brother's duel disk before he headed out, knowing it would take him some time to reach the warehouse.

**. . .**

"Why're you out here, Chazz?" Arina asked, leaning against the railing on the balcony and causing Chazz to jump.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," the black-haired duelist protested.

Arina chuckled. "Sorry," she said.

Chazz grunted before folding his arms and resting them on the railing. "I'm just thinking," he said in response to Arina's question.

"About what?"

Chazz shrugged. "Just things," he murmured.

Arina rested her head on his arm. "You can talk to me," she said.

"I know." Chazz fell silent, then: "The slacker said he considered me part of his family, a foster brother, he said."

Arina lifted her head. "He did? When was this?"

"Earlier today."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. I didn't know what to say. I'd like to see him as family, since he does treat me better than my brothers do but..."

"Are you afraid of what your brothers will think about this?"

"No…yes…I don't know. I guess a part of me is, but they don't seem to want anything to do with me. They basically tried to replace me."

Arina frowned. "With Celina?" she asked.

"Yeah, she said that they had asked to adopt her, though she turned them down, but they hadn't even told me about that."

Arina nodded but, before she could say anything, the door opened.

Raiden poked his head in. "Sorry to bother you, but have you two seen Kyle?" he asked.

"No, why?" Chazz asked.

"He's gone," Raiden said worriedly. "Keith had just gone to visit his friends and when he came back, Kyle was gone and so was his deck, his phone and Keith's duel disk."

Chazz's brow furrowed. "Where would he go?" he asked.

"I dunno, but we're searching the hotel now and, so far, no one's been able to find him."

"That's not good," Arina said. "Why don't we help with the search, Chazz?"

Chazz nodded and followed Arina as she led the way out of the hotel room and the two of them joined with Raiden in searching the hotel for Kyle.

**. . .**

Kaage relaxed against the wall, eyes closed; the warm rays of sunlight shone down on him. He fingered the diamond-shaped crystals that hung around his neck; seven glowing ones with an eighth empty one that would soon be filled.

'_Do_ _you suppose he will come?_' Dark Shadow murmured.

_I have observed him and he is very loyal to his family. I have no doubt he would do anything to get his cousin's soul back,_ Kaage thought.

'_Why_ _him, though? There are plenty of others to choose from._'

_Call it a random choice. After all, I don't really care who I take so long as the person is connected to the little monster in some way. I already have plans for the last two that I am going to target, though._

A quiet sinister laugh sounded in the back of his mind. '_Yes,_ _your last two targets will definitely break the boy and it will be that much easier for both of us to kill him,_' he mused.

_Indeed. Things are going exactly as I have planned, _Kaage thought; his eyes fluttered open and he pushed himself away from the wall.

The hour was almost up and his next victim was very likely almost there.

_Time for Victim #8 to fall,_ he thought with a cool smirk.

…

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and there you have it. Chapter 11 has been posted (smiles happy)**

**Bakura: whatever (goes to rob Gringotts)**

**Blaze: you know, one of these days he's going to rob Gringotts so many times that there's going to be nothing left. Oh and I don't own **_**Harry Potter**_**.**

**Yami: I'm surprised it's not empty yet**

**Marik: honestly, so am I**

**Jaden: hi**

**Jesse: hi**

**Chazz: 'sup?**

**Blaze: hi, Jaden, Jesse, Chazzy**

**Chazz: (growls) don't call me Chazzy!**

**Blaze: (shrugs) fine, fine, but only 'cause you're my fourth favorite character**

**Chazz: still can't believe a psychotic duel spirit is higher on the list of your favorite characters than The Chazz**

**Yubel: **_**I am not psychotic!**_** That's Haou**

**Haou: yeah (realizes what Yubel actually said) **_**hey!**_

**Jaden: well, she ain't wrong**

**Haou: (grumbles under breath)**

**Jesse: so any question today?**

**Blaze: (pouts) unfortunately, no, I can't think of any that I haven't already used**

**Jaden: so anything else you wanna tell your readers?**

**Blaze: well, other than that **_**Yu-Gi-Oh!/Yu-Gi-Oh! GX **_**crossover story that I'm working on, nope, though I am having fun with it. Writing from the perspective of a five-year-old is definitely interesting and fun (wanders off)**

**Chazz: why does she always do that?**

**Jaden: no idea**

**Jesse: please review and, since the next chapter does have a duel in it and she will be sending it to her beta-reader on Friday, it should be posted Sunday, Monday at the latest. **


	12. Revenge, Part II

**Well, I'm on chapter twelve and I'm updating on Sunday. Yay!**

**Thank you to **_**Sorcerer of the Stories, DarkZorua100, Kamen Rider Sting, dragonrider90, decode9, bobmanv2.0, EndlessNight025, weather741, a1993, iloveyugiohGX93 **_**and **_**Lightclaw's Shadow**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**And a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025 **_**for being an awesome beta-reader, and for helping me a lot with these duels since she does right pretty cool duels.**

**So, here is chapter twelve and yes, there is a cliffhanger. I hope that you enjoy it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**12**

**Revenge, Part II**

"Has anyone found Kyle yet?" Atticus asked once the gang had all gathered in the lobby of the hotel.

"One of the guests told me that she spotted someone matching Kyle's description leaving the hotel about an hour ago," Kasumi said as she joined them.

"But why would he leave?" Jaden asked with a frown.

No one seemed to have an answer to that question.

"Has anyone tried calling him?" asked Arina.

"I did, but he didn't answer," Atticus said.

Keith walked over to join them. "I told Mom and Dad. They're going out to look for him, after they tell the police," he said. "I'm going to join them." He left the hotel after that.

The gang exchanged glances and Jaden wondered if Kaage had anything to do with this. _But Kasumi said that someone had spotted Kyle leaving the hotel, so could Kaage actually be responsible for this? Did he lure Kyle out somehow? Why else would he leave the hotel without telling anyone where he was going?_ In the time that Jaden had known Kyle, he didn't think that was something Kyle would do.

"So what do we do? Just let Aunt Emily, Uncle Matt and the police handle it?" Atticus asked.

"What else can we do?" Arina asked.

"Arina's right. I think our best bet is waiting here for any news," Kasumi said.

At that moment, Jaden's phone vibrated; he pulled it out of his pocket. "A text from Alexis's phone," he said.

"Does it say anything useful?" Atticus asked.

Jaden opened the text and read it to himself, narrowing his eyes as he did so.

[_Your friend certainly is loyal to his family, walking into a trap just to get his cuz's soul back. Shame he won't succeed._]

Jaden growled, eyes flashing to gold before returning to brown. "Kyle went after Kaage," he said.

"What?!" Kasumi exclaimed. "Why would he go after that psycho?"

"From what the text says, it's to get Alexis's soul back. Kyle's a good duelist and I don't wanna doubt him, but…to go against Kaage…" Jaden trailed off.

"He's been in a Shadow Duel before, remember?" Arina said.

"I know, but Kaage means business." Jaden's hand clenched into a fist. "I don't want to lose anyone else to that psychopath." He started walking to the door, only to stop when he felt someone grab his arm.

"Jaden, where are you going?" Kasumi asked.

"Kyle could use the support," Jaden said. "And if…if he loses then he'll need someone to be able to get him to the hospital."

"What happened to staying in the hotel?"

"Not when my friend could use my help." Without another word, Jaden brushed Kasumi's hand off and left the hotel, pulling out his phone as he did so and sending a text to Kaage, demanding to know where he had taken Kyle.

The reply didn't take long to come.

[_I took him nowhere. We are where we last met. By all means, come watch your friend fall._]

Jaden closed the phone and put it away as he started walking again.

"Judai, you're not going into this alone," Raiden said, catching up with his brother.

"Yeah, that psycho might try to hurt you if Kyle doesn't win," Kasumi said.

Jaden sighed, already knowing that arguing was useless when it came to his siblings, and his friends for that matter as Atticus, Arina, and Chazz had joined them outside the hotel. He nodded and the gang began heading toward Downtown Honolulu once again.

**. . .**

Kyle pushed open the door to the warehouse and gazed around with narrowed eyes. "Kaage, where are you?" he said quietly but his voice still echoed in the empty space.

A cold chuckle was his response before the lights turned on and Kaage strode forward. "Good afternoon, Kyle," he said.

Kyle folded his arms across his chest. "I plan on getting my cousin's soul back," he said.

"So confident, are you? Are you sure you can win? You aren't your brother, after all. He's a champion, you're just a student," Kaage said and held out his arm as his duel disk whirred to life. "But if you wish to lose your soul, I have no problem ripping it from you."

"That is not going to happen," Kyle said firmly as his own duel disk whirred to life. "I'll get Alexis back."

Kaage chuckled. "So you say," he said.

"Duel!"

**Kaage: 8000**

**Kyle: 8000**

"I'll start," Kyle said, drawing his sixth card.

"By all means, you'll need all the help you can get," Kaage sneered.

Kyle took a deep breath as he looked at the card he just drew. "I'll start by placing these two cards facedown and then I'll summon UFO Turtle in Defense Mode, he said.

Two vertical face-downs appeared at his feet and a green turtle with a UFO on its back instead of a shell appeared before hiding in its shell (A: 1400/D: 1200).

"I end my turn."

"I draw," Kaage said calmly, drawing a card and then smirking as he placed it on his duel disk. "I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World in Attack Mode."

The mad king fiend that Kyle remembered from Kaage's duel with Alexis appeared on the field with an insane cackle (A: 1800/D: 400).

"And next, I activate Fairy Meteor Crush and equip it to Brron," Kaage added, inserting the card into his duel disk. "This card allows Brron to deal piercing damage. Now, Brron, attack UFO Turtle."

"I activate my Backfire Trap card. Now you will take 500 points of damage every time you destroy a Fire monster," Kyle said, revealing his Trap.

Kaage didn't seem fazed by that as his mad king shot forward and struck UFO Turtle, causing it to shatter and Kyle winced just a little.

**Kaage: 8000**

**Kyle: 7400**

And then a blast of fire shot from the Backfire Trap to strike Kaage's duel disk.

**Kaage: 7500**

**Kyle: 7400**

"UFO Turtle effect activates," Kyle suddenly announced. When it's destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon a Fire monster with 1500 or less Attack Points from my deck, and I pick Solar Flare Dragon."

A serpentine dragon made of flames quickly appeared to take the place of Kyle's fallen monster (A: 1500/D: 1000).

"Brron also has an effect. Since he dealt battle damage to you, I can now discard a card," Kaage said, discarding the card before removing it from his Graveyard slot and adding, "And since my Sillva, Warlord of Dark World was discarded from my hand by a card effect, I can now Special Summon him to the field in Attack Mode."

Kyle narrowed his eyes as the purple-and-black armored monster wielding a bone-white dagger appeared on the field (A: 2300/D: 1400).

"And since it's still my Battle Phase, I'll have him attack your Solar Flare Dragon!"

Sillva dashed forward before thrusting his bone dagger into the flame serpent and it shattered, sending flames flying back at Kyle who bit his lip as he felt the flames burn him.

**Kaage: 7500**

**Kyle: 6600**

"Now Backfire deals you 500 points of damage," the Fire duelist said and a blast of flames shot from the Trap to strike Kaage.

**Kaage: 7000**

**Kyle: 6600**

"I end my turn," Kaage finished.

Kyle drew a card and glanced at it and then at his hand. This could work, he thought.

"I'll start by activating my face-down card, Call of the Haunted to bring back my Solar Flare Dragon," he said as the card flipped up and his blazing snake-dragon returned to the field (A: 1500/D: 1000).

"Next, I'll summon another Solar Flare Dragon in Attack Mode."

In a wave of flames a second Solar Flare Dragon appeared beside the first one (A: 1500/D: 1000).

"I'll then activate the field Spell, Molten Destruction."

Kyle inserted his Spell into the Field Spell Zone and the area around them turned into a blazing hot sea of lava. Luckily for the duelists, they were safely situated atop a small rock island in the middle of the liquid fire, keeping them from harm.

"Molten Destruction raises all Fire-Attribute monsters' Attack Points by 500, but lowers their Defense Points by 400," Kyle explained as both of his monsters were affected by the Field Spell (A: 1500-2000/D: 1000-600 x2).

"I'll now have my first Solar Flare Dragon attack Brron!"

The first flame monster loose a blast of fire that surged forward and slammed into the mad king, causing him to scream in pain and shatter into golden pixels.

**Kaage: 6800**

**Kyle: 6600**

"Since my other Solar Flare Dragon can't destroy Sillva, I'll end my turn with that, which means my Solar Flare Dragons' effects activate, each dealing you 500 points of damage," Kyle added and his two Solar Flare Dragons unleashed a blast of fire that slammed into Kaage, though he didn't so much as flinch from the pain.

**Kaage: 5800**

**Kyle: 6600**

Kaage snorted. "You are not nearly as unpredictable as your brother," he said, drawing a card. "I summon Scarr, Scout of Dark World in Defense Mode and I will end with that."

A red and purple fiend with a wickedly curved dagger in his hand appeared on the field and crouched down (A: 500/D: 500).

"My turn and I'm starting by removing UFO Turtle in my Graveyard from play in order to Special Summon Inferno in Attack Mode," Kyle said, pocketing one of the cards in his Graveyard slot and placing another card on the disk.

A being that looked to be made completely out of flames appeared on the field (A: 1100-1600/D: 1900-1500).

"Now, Inferno, attack Scarr," Kyle ordered and the flames shot forward before enveloping the red fiend, causing it to cry out as it was burned to a crisp and Inferno returned to Kyle's side of the field.

"You activated Scarr's effect, allowing me to add one Level 4 or lower 'Dark World' monster from my Deck to my hand," Kaage said, retrieving said card and then shuffling his deck.

"Yeah, but Inferno has an effect, too. When it destroys one of your monsters by battle, you take 1500 points of damage," Kyle added and Kaage narrowed his eyes as flames shot forward and struck him.

**Kaage: 4300**

**Kyle: 6600**

"I set one card and end my turn, which means my Solar Flare Dragons' effects activate once again," the Fire duelist announced as the two aforementioned monsters shot two more blasts of fire at Kaage.

**Kaage: 3300**

**Kyle: 6600**

"Hmm, it appears I may have underestimated you," Kaage mused as he drew a card. "Whatever, I still plan on winning and this card can help me out. I activate Heavy Storm to destroy all Spells and Traps on the field."

Strong gusts of wind surged across the field, obliterating Kyle's face-down, Field Spell, and two Continuous Traps. When Call of the Haunted left the field, the Solar Flare Dragon equipped to it was destroyed as well, due to the Trap's secondary effect.

With Molten Destruction also now gone, Kyle's two remaining monsters' stats returned to normal (Solar Flare Dragon A: 2000-1500/D: 600-1000) (Inferno A: 1600-1100/D: 1500-1900).

"And, next, I summon Zure, Knight of Dark World to my field in Attack Mode."

A fiendish knight with a tattered dark blue cape around his shoulders appeared (A: 1800/D: 1500).

"Zure, attack Inferno," Kaage ordered and the knight nodded his assent and shot forward, slicing through the fire monster, the resulting backlash sending Kyle skidding back a few feet.

**Kaage: 3300**

**Kyle: 5900**

"Now, I'll have Sillva destroy your Solar Flare Dragon!"

Sillva once again charged towards the fire dragon before slashing it up with his dagger, sending flaming embers everywhere.

**Kaage: 3300**

**Kyle: 5100**

"I end my turn," Kaage said.

**. . .**

The gang approached the warehouse where they had found Alexis and entered it to find Kyle standing across from Kaage. Kyle had an empty field, while Kaage had Sillva, Warlord of Dark World and Zure, Knight of Dark World on his.

Kaage lifted his head and smirked. "Look, Kyle, the little monster came to show his support," he sneered.

"Kyle, what are you doing here?" Atticus demanded, glaring at Kaage, who just smirked at him.

"And how are your fingers, Atticus?" he said. "Not hurting, I trust?" His tone was mocking and Atticus scowled.

"I'm getting Alexis's soul back," Kyle said, glancing briefly at his friends. "I can win this."

Jaden bit his lip, knowing he couldn't interrupt a Shadow Game. "Just be careful," he said.

If it was at any other time, and if the stakes weren't as high, Jaden would've been thrilled at getting to see his friend duel, especially since he's only seen Kyle duel a few times. However, he was worried now; he didn't want to lose his friend to this psycho.

Kyle nodded and returned his attention to Kaage. "It's my turn and I start by activating Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two more cards." He paused to do just that before with a smile, added, "I now activate Lightning Vortex and, by discarding one card in my hand, all face-up monsters on your side of the field are destroyed."

He discarded one card and strikes of lightning shot down to obliterate Sillva and Zure.

"And now I summon Volcanic Slicer in Attack Mode," Kyle continued on and an olive-green dinosaur-like monster appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 1200).

"Volcanic Slicer, attack Kaage directly," Kyle ordered and his monster obliged, letting loose a blast of fire that surged forward and slammed right into the Dark World duelist.

**Kaage: 1500**

**Kyle: 5100**

"Kyle's got more than twice Kaage's Life Points. He's doing really well," Atticus said.

"Keep it up, Kyle," Kasumi called.

"I end my turn," Kyle said.

"Fine then, my draw," Kaage said, drawing a card. "I'll place this monster in facedown Defense Mode and end my turn."

A horizontal facedown appeared at Kaage's feet before his move came to a close.

"My draw," Kyle said, drawing a card and then glancing at it. "I summon Ultimate Baseball Kid in Attack Mode."

A golden-eyed boy in a red baseball uniform with a red helmet on his head and a spiked blue bat in his hand appeared on the field (A: 500/D: 1000).

"And he gains 1000 Attack for every face-up Fire monster on the field, except for himself," he added as the kid grew in strength (A: 500-1500/D: 1000).

_If he can land these attacks then he could win, _Atticus thought hopefully.

"I'll have Volcanic Slicer attack your facedown monster," the Fire duelist declared as the dinosaur-like monster unleashed another blazing attack aimed at the hidden monster on Kaage's field, flipping it up to reveal a Morphing Jar.

"Since you flipped up my Morphing Jar, we now discard our entire hands and draw five new cards," Kaage said, making Kyle scowl. Because he had no cards in his hand, Kyle just watched as Kaage discarded the last three cards in his hand before both players each drew five new cards.

"And since Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World and Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World were discarded by a card effect, their effects activate," Kaage added. "First, due to Goldd's effect, he's instantly Special Summoned to my field."

A gold-colored demon with horns atop his head appeared on Kaage's field, swinging a gold and black battle axe (A: 2300/D: 1400).

"And thanks to Kahkki's effect, I can now target one monster on the field and destroy it," the Dark World duelist went on with a sadistic grin. "I choose your Volcanic Slicer."

The Pyro monster roared in pain as it was suddenly blown off the field, which weakened Ultimate Baseball Kid in the process (A: 1500-500/D: 1000).

"I'll place these three cards facedown and end my turn," Kyle said as he inserted three more cards into his duel disk.

Kaage mutely drew a card and smirked when he saw what it was. "It looks as though I am about to turn this duel around. First, I activate the Field Spell, The Gates of Dark World," Kaage added, inserting the card into his Field Card slot. Fog immediately began to shroud the field as a giant gate rose up behind him. "With this on the field, all Fiend-type monsters gain 300 Attack and Defense."

Goldd growled as his power increased (A: 2300-2600/D: 1400-1700).

Kaage was far from done, however. "Next, I activate my Field Spell's second effect. By banishing a Scarr, Scout of Dark World—a Fiend—in my Graveyard, I can discard a Fiend in my hand, like Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, for example, and then draw a card." He did all of that and then added, "And because Grapha was discarded by a card effect, I can now destroy one card on my opponent's field. I choose your middle face-down card."

The selected card was soon obliterated from Kyle's field, but not before revealing that it had been Magic Cylinder.

"Next, I summon Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World in Defense Mode."

A large gray fiend with large red hands appeared before crouching down, placing his hands in front of him as if he was about to catch something (A: 100-400/D: 2100-2400).

"But he won't be around for long, because I will now activate Grapha's effect to return Renge to my hand in order to Special Summon him from the Graveyard. Come forth, Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!" He removed the card from the duel disk and placed another card in its place.

"That's his most powerful monster," Arina gasped as the large dragon-like fiend appeared on the field with a roar (A: 2700-3000/D: 1800-2100).

"This isn't good," Atticus murmured, gazing at his cousin in concern.

"This duel's over. Grapha, attack his pathetic Kid," Kaage ordered and his dragon roared before slashing toward Ultimate Baseball Kid with his claws, causing him to cry out in pain as he was destroyed.

**Kaage: 1500**

**Kyle: 2600**

"Now, Goldd, attack him directly and end this duel!" he barked out and his other Dark World monster started forward.

"I activate my Trap, Firewall. Now, by removing Inferno from play, I can negate the attack since it's a direct attack," Kyle said quickly, revealing his Trap. He pocketed the card and a wall of flames appeared between him and Goldd, sending the monster back to the other side of the field.

Kaage growled. "You are beginning to irritate me. I place one card facedown and end my turn," he said.

_I can turn this duel around. I just need the right card,_ Kyle thought. "My draw," he said, drawing a card and then glancing at it. His eyes went wide. _No way... It actually came!_ Thanks to the card he just drew, this was his chance to get his cousin's soul back and finally stop this madman.

"Since it's my Standby Phase, I've gotta decide whether to pay 500 Life Points to keep Firewall on the field or destroy it, and I think I'll keep it around, just to be safe," he said, wincing a little when flames surrounded him.

**Kaage: 1500**

**Kyle: 2100**

"By banishing the Ultimate Baseball Kid in my Graveyard and the Raging Flame Sprite in my hand—two Fire monsters—I can now Special Summon Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos from my hand in Attack Mode!"

Out of a pillar of fire that suddenly erupted from the ground directly behind Kyle, emerged a giant red and black winged dragon with piercing light-blue eyes and horns and claws set ablaze by the molten lava seeping out of the many cracks on his body (A: 2800/D: 1800).

"That is one cool monster," Kasumi mused. "Hopefully it can win him this duel."

Jaden nodded in agreement. Normally, he would be excited but, right now, he was still worried. _Let's hope so,_ he thought.

"I summon another Volcanic Slicer to the field in Attack Mode."

His green dinosaur-like monster appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 1200).

"Next, I activate my facedown card, High Tide on Fire Island," Kyle went on. "When a Level 7 or higher Water or Fire monster is on my field, I can activate this card and use its effects, depending on the type of monsters I currently control. Since I only have Fire monsters, I can use my Trap's second effect to destroy one monster on the field, and I'm going with Grapha!"

A tidal wave of flames suddenly rose up from out of nowhere and quickly rendered Grapha a pile of ash, making Kaage scowl some more.

"Due to my Trap's last effect, I would then have to discard a card in my hand, but since my hand is already empty, I don't have to worry about that," Kyle shrugged before switching over into his Battle Phase. "Blaster, get rid of his Goldd!"

The Dragon Ruler of Infernos instantly obeyed, unleashing a stream of blazing lava from his gaping mouth that shot across the field and slammed right into the golden Fiend, destroying him.

**Kaage: 1300**

**Kyle: 2100**

"Volcanic Slicer, attack Kaage directly and end this!" the Fire duelist commanded.

"Way to go, Kyle," Atticus called.

"Ha! Did you really think it would be that easy, fool?" Kaage derided, causing the rest of the gang to look at him, wondering what he had planned. "I activate my face-down card, the Quick-Play Spell, Gateway to Dark World! With this, I can target a 'Dark World' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to the field, and the one I choose is Grapha, of course!"

A mass of dark energy then appeared in the middle of the field, acting as a portal that the draconic Fiend quickly used to fly out of, returning from the Grave to serve his master once again (A: 2700-3000/D: 1800-2100).

"Damn it. He was so close," Jaden growled.

Since Volcanic Slicer was now staring down a foe it could not defeat, Kyle had no chose but to call off his monster's attack.

"I…end my turn…" Kyle muttered, slowly beginning to feel crestfallen, to feel as if winning this duel really was impossible for him. _Maybe I'll really never be as good as Keith after all…_he thought in dejection.

"Hey, don't give up yet, cuz!" Atticus called out to him after seeing his cousin's sudden sullen expression. "You can still win this!"

"He's right," Arina agreed. "You just need to have faith and believe in your deck."

The others all nodded in agreement at that.

"All he needs is to have faith, you say?" Kaage sneered, having overheard the others' conversation. "What a joke! Something as stupid as that won't do him any good, especially since his fate had already been sealed the moment he stepped foot into this place."

Jaden growled at Kaage's words, while Kasumi clenched her hand into a fist, feeling it heat up and taking a deep breath to control her emotions.

"Anyway, it's my turn. I draw," the Dark World duelist said as he did just that. "Well, this has been oh-so much fun, but I think it's about time I end you. I activate the Spell Card, Riryoku. Thanks to this card, I can select your Blaster, drain half of its Attack Points, and give them to my Grapha until the end of this turn!"

Kyle's eyes went wide while the gang gasped.

"No!" Atticus shouted, watching in horror as half of Blaster's strength was zapped away and transferred over to Grapha, powering him up even further (Blaster A: 2800-1400/D: 1800) (Grapha: 3000-4400/D: 2100).

Kaage laughed. "My victory is assured. Grapha, attack Blaster and end this duel!" he ordered and his monster roared before lashing out with his claws toward Blaster, ripping through the Dragon Ruler and causing him to shatter, making Kyle scream as was sent flying to the ground.

**Kaage: 1300 WINNER**

**Kyle: 0**

"Kyle!" Atticus shouted.

Kaage strode toward Kyle, smirking as he did so. "I guess you're not as great a duelist as your brother," he said, holding out his hand.

Kyle's body went limp and his eyes closed as his body glowed and the little yellow orb of light floated out of him before being infused into the crystal that Kaage was holding up.

"You psycho!" Kasumi screamed, her hands clenched tightly and her nails digging into her palms. "You took two of our friends' souls."

"No kidding," Kaage sneered. "And they won't be the last ones." His gaze trained on Jaden before he added, "I plan to make you suffer even more, and then I will kill you, little monster, and I will enjoy killing you very much."

"You bastard! I won't let you go anywhere near my brother!" Kasumi screamed and lashed out before she realized what she was doing. The blast of fire emerged from her hands and shot forward, slamming into a shocked Kaage's chest and sending him flying into a pile of crates nearby.

Weakened suddenly, Kasumi fell to her knees with a gasp, staring at her hand as the realization that she had just done that in front of her friends and her family, though the latter already knew, hit her. She trembled, fear flooding her body.

"W…What was that?" Atticus gasped.

"Did Kasumi really just do that?" Arina whispered.

"What the…? How did…? What's going on?" Chazz exclaimed.

Kaage growled as he crawled out of the pile of crates he landed in. "It seems monsters flock together," he sneered. "Isn't that interesting? The little monster has a monster as his sister. I do so wonder if she is just as much a murderer as the little monster."

Kasumi flinched as though someone had struck her and Kaage, noticing, laughed.

"So, I was right? You are a murderer? Well, I guess monsters aren't the only ones who flock together," he sneered.

"Shut up! And leave my sister alone! She isn't a murderer!" Jaden shouted.

Kaage laughed. "Believe what you will, little monster," he said and vanished into the shadows.

Kasumi's body was wracked with sobs as she trembled, her mind filled with those same insults that have been echoing in her head for months now. _Murderer! Freak!_ Tears slid down her face as she realized that she was exactly that and now her brothers and her friend knew it. They would turn on her, she just knew it.

She didn't want to face that, though, so she jumped to her feet and ran out of the warehouse.

"Kas!" Jaden shouted.

"Little Mist!" Raiden shouted.

Kasumi ignored both of them as she ran, not knowing where she was going, but knowing that she had to get away, from the disgusted looks she would no doubt receive from her friends and family and from the vicious insults that were still echoing in her head.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: aww, poor Kasumi**

**Bakura: you know it's your own fault**

**Blaze: shut up or you won't get a slice of the cherry pie **_**dragonrider90**_** gave us in their review**

**Bakura: (shuts up)**

**Jaden: cherry pie? Sweet**

**Jesse: awesome**

**Chazz: do I get a slice?**

**Blaze: of course. All my favorite characters get a slice (hands slice to all her favorite characters)**

**Marik: hey, thanks**

**Yami Marik: I get a slice? (Looks very confused)**

**Blaze: well, you are my favorite **_**Yu-Gi-Oh!**_** villain and that counts**

**Slade, Jagger and Viper: what about us?**

**Blaze: (hands flamethrower to Bakura)**

**Bakura: (grins and takes flamethrower)**

**Chazz: you should run**

**Slade and Jagger: (take off running)**

**Viper: why?**

**Bakura: (burns Viper to ashes and tosses flamethrower through one of the windows in Kaiba's mansion and then lifts up piece of paper) question time?**

**Jesse: you have a question for this chapter?**

**Blaze: yes, yes I do. And Bakura, go ahead**

**Bakura: all right, this is another **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V **_**question. As of right now, what is your favorite moment in the **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V **_**series? Blaze's favorite would have to be when Yuya, in Beserk Mode, summoned Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, the Supreme King Black Dragon, since she thinks that was, in her words, 'epically awesome!'**

**Blaze: well it was!**

**Jesse: gotta admit that was a good episode**

**Jaden: yeah it was. So anything else you wanna tell us?**

**Blaze: other than I am working on writing my first **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V **_**story, nope**

**Bakura: an **_**ARC-V **_**story?**

**Blaze: yup**

**Bakura: oh okay, I suppose**

**Kaiba: who the hell broke my window?**

**Bakura: (points at Yami) he did**

**Yami: I hate you! (Takes off running with a furious Kaiba right behind him)**

**Bakura: (shouts) the feeling's mutual!**

**Blaze: well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	13. Lost and Kidnapped

**Well, this is chapter 13 and, because of a review I got, I've rewritten the remaining chapters of this story. After the next chapter, there is only one more duel and it's the one I'm sure everyone's been waiting for. And the next chapter...well, you'll just to wait until next week to see but this story is still nineteen chapters long. It's just some chapters ended up getting shorter because of the changes I made since I was kinda...disheartened by that one review and decided to try to make my story less 'mary-sueish'.**

**This is a filler chapter but, personally, it does have some important information in it, though what happened with Kasumi won't be explained until Chapter 15. Originally, it was in this chapter but, since I've rewritten the remaining chapters, it was moved to Chapter 15.**

**Well, either way, thank you to **_**Lightclaw's Shadow, Sorcerer of the Stories, EndlessNight025, Mechadroidtron, bobmanv2.0, iloveyugiohGX93, decode9, a1993, DarkZorua100, SpartanDog1, ghost boy 952, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, Supreme Elemental Hero **_**and **_**dragonrider90**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**And thank you to **_**EndlessNight025 **_**for being an awesome beta-reader as always.**

**Well, I do hope you like the rewritten version of this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**13**

**Lost and Kidnapped**

It was late afternoon and the gang was heading to the hospital with Kyle's soulless body. During that time, Raiden and Jaden were taking turns trying to call Kasumi as they had no idea to where she run off. Jaden was worried and confused as well; he knew his sister wasn't a murderer, and yet she had flinched when Kaage accused her of being one. _Am I wrong? But I just can't see Kas as murdering anyone! She isn't me, _Jaden thought mournfully.

'_Judai, what happened…_' Yubel began.

…_Was not my fault, I know, I know,_ Jaden thought. That's what Yubel and Haou kept telling him but a part of Jaden still blamed himself. He still blamed himself for that and for everything that was happening, for what happened to Alexis, and now Kyle. He couldn't help it.

Yubel gazed at Jaden worriedly as he leaned against his brother, who simply put an arm around his shoulders with his phone pressed against his ear. They were in the back of one of the cabs the gang was using to get to the hospital.

_The others don't blame him for what happened and put the blame where it was due, on Haou, and, while he told them that they were right, I know a part of him doesn't believe it,_ Yubel thought. She turned to Chazz and Arina, who were riding in the cab with them, Arina was up front but Chazz was sitting on Jaden's other side.

Yubel noticed that Chazz was observing Jaden and scowling at Ojama Yellow, who was floating above his shoulder. "Would ya get outta here?" he growled quietly to the other duel spirit.

'_Sorry, boss, but Jaden seems down,_' Ojama Yellow said.

"Hmph, of course he's down. No one can exactly be happy after what just happened," Chazz grunted.

'_I_ _think it's more than that, boss. He looks…guilty,_' Ojama Yellow said, peering at Jaden, who was gazing at nothing, a somber look on his face.

Chazz glanced at Jaden with a frown. "Yeah, he looked the same after what happened with Alexis, now that I think about it," he murmured to himself.

Yubel heard him, though, and she also heard the concern in his voice. He would probably never admit that he was feeling concerned, though, but his voice clearly said that he was.

Raiden lowered his phone as the cab pulled to a stop outside the hospital. The group climbed out and was joined by the rest of the gang; Arina asked if Kasumi had answered yet while Atticus was taking Kyle's body into the hospital.

"She's not answering," Raiden said.

"Have you called Dad?" Jaden asked quietly.

"I did. He's upset that we left the hotel, but he hasn't seen Kasumi either."

"If she didn't go back to the hotel, where did she go?" Arina asked. "Honolulu's a big city. Trying to find her would be like trying to find a hay in a needle stack."

"Needle in a hay stack," Chazz corrected.

"That's what I meant. Call the police."

Raiden nodded and dialed 911 before talking quietly with the operator, who answered.

Jaden was gazing at the hospital for several moments, his mind elsewhere.

"Yo, slacker, snap outta it," Chazz said.

Jaden blinked and noticed that the rest of the gang, with the exception of Chazz, was already entering the hospital, having not noticed that Jaden wasn't following them. Chazz stood in front of him with his arms crossed.

"Sorry, got lost in my thoughts," Jaden said, starting to walk.

Chazz fell into step beside him and they walked for a few minutes in silence.

"It's not your fault, slacker," Chazz said, breaking the silence.

Jaden glanced at him. "I know that," he said.

Chazz snorted. "Yeah, you know that, but you don't believe it," he said.

Jaden blinked, wondering how Chazz knew that. "Why do you say that?" he asked, playing dumb.

"Don't play dumb with me, slacker. I saw how you looked when Alexis's soul was taken, and again when the same thing happened to Kyle," Chazz said. "You looked guilty."

Jaden averted his eyes and was silent for a moment. "I am," he said quietly.

Chazz scoffed. "You didn't take Alexis's soul, you didn't take Kyle's soul, you weren't even responsible for what happened that caused all of this," he said.

"Yes, I was."

"No, you weren't. How many times must people tell ya that before it gets through that thick skull of yours?" Though he wasn't sure about the others, Chazz had heard Yubel tell Jaden the same thing before.

Jaden shook his head. "Chazz, you weren't there," he said.

"So what? Neither was Kasumi and she doesn't blame you. Neither was Alexis or Kyle or Arina and they don't blame you. So just snap outta this guilt of yours, would ya? It's exactly what Kaage wants, I'm positive of it," Chazz said.

Jaden looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Chazz rolled his eyes. "Think about it, slacker. Why would he target everyone around you? He even told you he wants you to suffer and that's why he's attacking everyone around you. Psychopath or not, I don't think he's doing that just 'cause he can, at least not entirely. He's doing it to get into your head, and it seems to be working."

Jaden bit his lip but Chazz's words made sense. Why else would Kaage be attacking those close to him? Psychopath or not, his most recent targets were not random choices; they were people Jaden knew. Thus, Chazz was right; it only made sense that he would be doing this for a reason and if he was trying to get into Jaden's head, Chazz was also right in the fact that it was working.

"I…think you're right, Chazz," Jaden said quietly. "Thank you."

"Hmph, whatever," Chazz muttered and started walking again.

Jaden jogged after him.

**. . .**

Celina lowered the phone worriedly, causing Bakura to glance at her. "What's the matter?" he asked quietly.

"I just got a call from Atticus. Kyle's in the hospital," Celina said, biting her lip as she thought about the brunet boy that she had somehow become friends with in the days they had been in Honolulu.

"Is he all right?" Bakura asked.

Celina swallowed. "He's…He's like Alexis, comatose and the doctors still don't know what caused it," she replied. She was positive she knew, but she wasn't about to tell Bakura; chances were he wouldn't believe her.

"I see. I am sure he'll be fine, Celina," Bakura said with a gentle smile before he added, "If you want, I can turn in the paperwork myself."

Celina shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. I'll go with you," she said. She and Bakura were back in San Francisco, having just flown in a few hours before. She hadn't had time to say goodbye to Kyle since they had left too early, but she had his number since he had called her the day after what happened to Alexis. She smiled a little as she thought about Kyle; he was so nice and shy and very cute.

"Celina, you're blushing," Bakura commented.

Celina's blush deepened.

The white-haired man chuckled. "Come on, let's go drop off the paperwork," he said, standing up.

Celina followed suit and followed Bakura out of the room they had been in within her foster home.

**. . .**

A few hours had passed since the duel against Kyle, and Jaden and his friends were not the only ones searching for Kasumi. Kaage was as well. He knew that this was the perfect opportunity to take out the little monster's sister; she looked distraught when her...ability was revealed.

Dark Shadow seemed to find what happened to Kaage very amusing, much to his irritation.

'_I_ _very much doubt you'll be able to find the girl. She probably ran off in a random direction, and finding her in this city won't be easy,_' Dark Shadow murmured.

_True,_ Kaage thought, pressing his lips together. _I suppose I will have to wait to challenge her. I'll just go after the little monster's brother then. Makes no difference to me which one I go after first._

'_And how do you plan on getting him to duel you?_' Dark Shadow asked.

Kaage's lips quirked into a smirk. _I have an idea,_ he thought. Getting the boy away from his friends and family without them noticing will be the difficult part.

'_Wait for the cover of darkness,_' Dark Shadow said.

_Hn, will still be difficult,_ Kaage thought, though his mind was working overtime as he thought about what exactly he could do to get the boy away from his friends and the little monster.

**. . .**

"Have you found Kasumi yet, Dad?" Jaden asked as his dad walked into the hotel room. The sun was starting to fall and Jaden was starting to get very worried since Kasumi still wasn't answering her phone and she also hadn't returned to the hotel yet. It was late and it was dangerous for anyone to be outside after dark, especially with a psychopath running around.

Kaede shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jaden, but the police are looking. It's not that late, though. I'm going to go out and look some more," he said.

Jaden nodded and Kaede left the room. "I hope she's okay," he said quietly.

"Why did she run off like that?" Raiden asked with a frown. "More importantly, why did Kaage's words shake her up so much? It wasn't as if he was telling the truth, was he?"

"No way. Kas wouldn't murder anyone," Jaden protested.

Raiden nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't see her doing that, but I saw how she reacted when Kaage accused her of being a murderer like you. She flinched, Judai."

"That doesn't prove anything!"

"I know, I know. Don't get defensive, Judai. I'm just telling ya what I noticed," Raiden said, placing his hands on Jaden's shoulders. "Calm down. Little Mist will be fine. Dad and the police will find her."

Jaden swallowed, but he nodded. "I just…I'm worried about her, Rai."

"I know, Judai, I know," Raiden murmured, wrapping his arms around his younger brother and Jaden leaned against him.

**. . .**

"So no one's been able to find her?" Chazz asked as he joined Arina on the couch in the lobby of the hotel.

Arina shook her head. "Last I heard, they haven't yet," she said. "I'm worried. What if she runs into Kaage? Or some other sicko?"

"She'll be all right," Chazz said in a lame attempt to make his girlfriend feel better.

Arina gave him a gentle smile before leaning against him as he sat down beside her. "I just wish Kaage would get caught already and we could enjoy our last days here in Honolulu without having to constantly look over our shoulders or be confined to this hotel," she said.

"Yeah, me, too," Chazz agreed.

**. . .**

Kasumi had run in a random direction when she left the warehouse and, now that the sun was sinking beyond the horizon, she had no idea where she was. There were skyscrapers around her, so she figured she was still in Honolulu, but where? She had no idea. Nothing looked familiar. But then, she had only seen a few places in Honolulu.

She didn't know where to go, though. She didn't want to return to the hotel; no one would want her there. She was a murderer, after all. Who would want a murderer staying with them?

Tears were still falling from her eyes as she stopped walking to catch her breath and look around. She hadn't brought her inhaler with her this time, so she was starting to wheeze. Taking a few deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down, though it did little to stop the tears, she leaned against the wall of the building she had stopped beside.

_What am I supposed to do now?_ she thought. Should she go back to the hotel and just deal with the disgusted looks? She knew that it wouldn't be a good idea for her to remain outside after dark; not only was there a psychopath running around, but who knew what else was around.

Swallowing as she gradually got her breath back, Kasumi started walking again. She wished that she could just go back in time and erase what happened in the past. She wished she didn't murder her parents with her powers. She knew it was pointless to wish for things that couldn't happen, but she still did.

She missed her parents, she missed her sister. She did love the Yukis and she loved being a part of their family—she wasn't sure it would last much longer—and she loved her adopted brothers as if they were her own, but she still missed her real family. Her parents—Mika and Itsuki Suzuki—her younger twin—Hikari—she missed all of them, more now than ever before.

Tears started falling from her eyes again and she hastily wiped them away. She knew that tears wouldn't bring them back and that crying over something that had been lost for years was pointless, but she couldn't help it. She wondered if this was how Jaden felt every time the anniversary of his Aunt and Uncle's deaths came around.

The sun disappeared beyond the horizon. Stars speckled the velvety black surface and light from the crescent-shaped moon as well as from the street lamps illuminated the night and allowed Kasumi to see where she was going. It didn't help much since she still had no idea where she was, or how to get back to the hotel.

She didn't have anywhere else to go so she would have to return to the hotel. Now if only she could figure out where that was; it didn't help that her phone was on the verge of dying and she was sure it wouldn't last long enough for her to make another call.

_I wish I had paid attention when I ran off. Maybe I can find a store around here and see if they'll let me use their phone,_ she thought, gazing around and wrapping her arms around her. It wasn't chilly, but she still felt a shiver run up her spine. It was as if someone was watching her, and she didn't like it.

_Is it Kaage?_ she thought fearfully, gazing around and quickening her pace until she was jogging down the street.

She had to stop after a few blocks when her asthma started acting up again. It was the same when she was running from the warehouse; she had to slow down a few times then to avoid an asthma attack.

Pausing, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

'_Kasumi, why don't you just call your dad or your brothers?_' Shire asked, appearing in front of Kasumi and looking at her in concern.

Kasumi sighed. "My phone's dead. I'm gonna try and find a store and hope they'll let me use their phone, Shire," she said, gazing around and trying to find a store that was open and hope they would be willingly to let her use their phone.

**. . .**

"It's getting really late. Where is she?" Jaden said, pacing in his room as Raiden watched him. Their dad had stepped out with Matt and Emily as well as the police, who agreed to search for Kasumi, since she was a minor and they didn't want her to get too far away.

"It'll be all right, Judai," Raiden said. "They'll find her."

"But what if she's hurt?!"

Raiden stood up and wandered over to his brother, wrapping his arms around him, pulling the younger boy closer to him. "She'll be all right," he said soothingly.

"I hope so. I don't want to lose her," Jaden said softly. _I don't want to lose you, either, _he thought. He didn't know where that thought came from, but he supposed he was getting paranoid for all of his friends and his family. He didn't know what he would do if he lost both of his siblings.

"Why don't you try getting some rest?" Raiden suggested. "I'll stay up and wake you if there is any news."

Jaden glanced toward the clock, noticing it was nine fifteen. "It's a bit early," he said.

"Yeah, but you could use the rest," Raiden said, giving his brother a small smile. "Go to sleep, little Judai."

Jaden blushed. "Stop calling me that, Rai," he protested.

Raiden chuckled and ruffled Jaden's hair.

Jaden sighed but decided that he would get some sleep. It might still be a bit early, but he did think that some rest might help him get his thoughts together, especially after what happened to Kyle. "Goodnight, Rai," he said and walked over to his bed, laying down on it.

"Night, Judai," Raiden replied softly.

It was still a good fifteen minutes before Jaden was able to relax enough to go to sleep, though.

Raiden left the room, intending on heading back to the lobby where his dad and the other adults were still gathered. Everyone else had returned to their rooms, told by Matt, Emily and Kaede that they should get some rest.

"We'll let you know if we find her," Matt had assured them.

Raiden doubted any of them could sleep. The only reason Jaden could was because he hadn't been getting much sleep since Alexis's soul was taken and was too exhausted to protest. It made Raiden glad that his brother was able to relax at least a little bit, at least enough to get some sleep. He needed it.

He headed toward the elevator when Rogue suddenly popped up beside him. "What is it, Rogue?" he said, noticing the anxious look on his spirit partner's face.

'_Something_ _isn't right, Raiden,_' Rogue said worriedly.

"Judai?"

'_No, I think it has something more to do with you,_' Rogue said. '_I_ _feel...this presence feels very...familiar._'

"Very familiar?"

'_Yes,_' Rogue said and then glanced toward the deck box that still rested on Raiden's hip. '_It's coming from one of your cards._'

Raiden frowned and then pulled out his deck, fanning it out until his gaze came upon his Silver Wyvern card, the same card that he had been having a bad feeling about for a while now. He picked it up, frowning at it as he put the rest of his cards away. He couldn't feel what was bothering the spirit within the card, but he could hear Silver Wyvern's soft voice quietly echo in his mind for the first time in a long time.

'_Danger, Raiden, danger, you need to move, get somewhere safe,_' the wyvern's soft, melodious voice echoed in Raiden's head.

Raiden, who knew that Silver Wyvern only spoke when Raiden was in danger, didn't need to be told twice, though he wasn't entirely sure where he could go. The adults down in the lobby probably would be his best bet.

Unfortunately, he didn't even make it to the elevator before someone grabbed him. He didn't even get the chance to scream before the sweet-tasting chloroform sent him into darkness.

**. . .**

Kasumi had been wandering around, trying to find a shop, for so long that she was now tired and hungry, her legs ached, her mind was drifting to the events of the past and the darkness was starting to unnerve her very much. She had hoped that where she had ended up when she first started looking would have a shop that would let her use a phone, but the only shops she managed to find were ones that closed early.

She paused and rested her back against the wall of a closed bakery, wishing she had thought to charge her phone before they had chased after Kyle like that. She just wished that this psycho would get arrested already and that what happened to Kyle never happened.

And what happened afterwards never happened.

She gazed down at her hands, at the hands that had shot a blast of fire at Kaage.

_Murderer! Freak!_

She closed her eyes, feeling a few stray tears escape her eyes as her mind went back to her parents, to the parents she murdered because of her freakish powers. She had killed them; Kaage was right. She was a murderer, she was a monster.

_Murderer! Freak!_

She pushed herself away from the wall and wiped her eyes, tears still falling from their depths. She hated this. She wanted those memories to go away. She wanted her freakish ability to go away. She just wanted to be normal.

_I can never be normal. I'm just a freak, a murdering freak!_ she thought morosely, tears still falling from her eyes. _I'm going to lose the family that I've come to love as my own. They're going to hate me._

'_No, they won't, Kasumi,' Shire assured her. 'They won't hate you. They love you,_' Shire said.

"But..."

'_No_ _'buts', Kasumi. They love you,_' Shire said firmly.

Kasumi wished that she could believe that, but a part of her, the part that still harbored that guilt, never would.

Shire sighed, wanting to help Kasumi, but she didn't know how. At the moment, her friend was wracked with guilt and dark memories, blaming herself for something that happened that Shire didn't know a thing about.

And it was all because of the callous words of that crazy man Kaage.

Shire scowled. That man was just so...so...He deserved to be behind bars! Or, maybe, get a taste of his own medicine after everything he had done to those innocent people and then to Alexis and Kyle.

And, of course, for his words that were part of the cause of Kasumi's current torment.

Shire knew that it wasn't the entire cause, but then she didn't know what actually happened that was the reason why Kasumi was acting like this.

She just wished she could help!

**. . .**

Raiden groaned and lifted his head off the concrete floor. _What hit me?_ he thought, and then his memories caught up with him and his eyes snapped open. Someone had attacked him right after Silver Wyvern warned him that something was amiss. It had come so suddenly that Raiden hadn't really had time to react.

He gazed around, noting that it was so dark he couldn't make out where he was. His mind went to who kidnapped him and then he smacked his forehead.

_Who else would?_ he thought as he pushed himself to his knees and then his feet, looking around with narrowed eyes.

"Good, you're awake," that familiar voice that Raiden was starting to hate sounded.

"What? Decided you didn't want any witnesses this time, psycho?" Raiden retorted.

"I was tempted, but then I realized that having witnesses would be rather counterproductive at this point. After defeating two of your friends with little effort with witnesses, I decided that I would take you out without them," Kaage's voice said.

Raiden narrowed his eyes. "What makes you so sure that you can?" he asked, looking around and noticing that there was a duel disk resting on the ground next to him. He picked it up and strapped it to his arm, already removing his deck from his deck holder.

"I know that I can beat you. It won't be that hard."

"Someone's overconfident in their abilities," Raiden said, narrowing his eyes. "I get the feeling I won't be able to say no to this duel even if I wanted to, am I right?"

"Of course you are," Kaage said. "But I'll make it worth your while. How about a deal?"

"A deal with you?" Raiden didn't trust it.

"Yes. This duel will be a non-Shadow Duel, but if I win, I get your soul. If you win, I will release all the souls that I have taken and turn myself in to the police."

"Sounds too good to be true." Raiden wondered why, on Earth, Kaage was making such an offer. "How do I know you'll even keep your end of the bargain when I win?"

"Don't trust me?"

"Hell no."

"Well, I suppose I could do something else other than duel you," Kaage said offhandedly. "Your father is staying at that hotel, yes? It would be rather simple to slip in and slit his throat while he was sleeping."

Raiden gritted his teeth. "You wouldn't."

"I killed a bunch of people in a hospital because they were trying to stop me from leaving. What makes you think I would not kill your precious father?" Kaage retorted.

Raiden growled. He was a psychopathic killer and the Shadow Reckoner duelist wouldn't put it past Kaage to murder his father. And, considering the powers that he got because of that Shadow Charm, he would be able to make a clean getaway without anyone even knowing he was there.

Kaage already wanted to kill Judai, but Raiden wasn't about to let him anywhere near his brother or his father.

"So what's it going to be, Raiden? Duel me or let your father die," Kaage challenged.

Raiden growled, but he knew he had no choice. He could not risk his father's life. "Fine, you win," he said and his duel disk whirred to life. "You want a duel then you've got one."

"So be it," Kaage said and his own duel disk whirred to life.

**. . .**

Jaden woke up to someone shaking his shoulders. "Hmm?" he mumbled tiredly; he was never coherent when getting up and he had only been asleep for a few hours, he thought anyway .The room was dark, so Jaden figured he hadn't been asleep for that long.

He blinked his eyes to find his dad gazing at him in concern. "Dad?" he mumbled.

"Jaden, do you know where Raiden is?" Kaede asked.

"He was here when I went to sleep. Why?"

"He's not here anymore."

Jaden frowned, worried, as he sat up. _Why isn't he here? Did Kaage kidnap him like he did Atticus? But if so, then why hasn't he told me anything?_ he thought. "Where could he have gone?" he asked worriedly.

First his sister was missing and now his brother. Could this get any worse?

"It's late, Jaden," Kaede said. "Go back to sleep. We'll do what we can to find both Kasumi and Raiden."

"I hope they're all right," Jaden said softly.

"As do I."

_I doubt I'll be able to go back to sleep now,_ Jaden thought, resting his head back on his pillow as his dad left the room.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: to those of you whom are still reading this story, I will be nice and give you a tiny spoiler for the upcoming chapter or Marik will anyway**

**Marik: the only thing you told me to tell everyone is that there's a twist in Raiden's duel against Kaage. How is that a spoiler?**

**Blaze: eh, depends on what people think I mean when I say 'twist'**

**Marik: (looks puzzled) okay?**

**Jaden: aren't you going to...?**

**Blaze: (smacks Jaden in the face with a chocolate cream pie)**

**Jaden: PIE! (Takes pie off his face and runs)**

**Jesse: hey! Save me some! (Takes off after Jaden)**

**Bakura: (shakes head) foolish mortals. No question today?**

**Blaze: I've decided that, mostly because I have no more questions, that I won't ask any more questions so sorry guys**

**Bakura: anything else?**

**Blaze: (thinks and then frowns) nope, can't think of anything**

**Bakura: then end the chapter so that I can go blow things up**

**Marik: why aren't you blowing things up right now?**

**Bakura: (scowls) Blaze said I had to wait until she ended this chapter**

**Blaze: (chuckles) well I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated. And yes, Bakura, you can go blow things up now.**

**Bakura: (grins, lifts up grenade launcher and runs off to go blow things up)**


	14. Revenge, Part III

**This chapter actually ended up being a bit shorter than I thought it would be but, since it's only from Raiden's POV and focuses more on his duel with Kaage, I thought it fit. Also, since the list of OC cards at the end ended up being a bit long, I wanna ask something. Should I just put the OC cards for Raiden's deck on my profile page? Let me know what you think.**

**Thank you to **_**Sophhascocunuts, DarkZorua100, EndlessNight025, SuperNeos2, Digigirl152, Supreme Elemental Hero, decode9, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, a1993, iloveyugiohGX93 **_**and **_**Sorcerer of the Stories **_**for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**And a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025 **_**for being an awesome beta-reader.**

**This chapter, I personally believe, is much darker than the other two 'Revenge' chapters I have posted but I do hope you like it, even if it is shorter compared to my other chapters. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**14**

**Revenge, Part III**

Moonlight shone through the windows that Kaage had opened after Raiden had, reluctantly, accepted the challenge. He really didn't have much of a choice and he could only hope that Kaage wouldn't go after Raiden's dad afterwards. There was no telling when it came to psychopaths, and definitely not when it came to Kaage himself.

Kaage smirked at him. "Are you ready to lose?" he sneered.

"I won't lose," Raiden said as confidently as possible as he and Kaage drew their opening hands.

"That's up for debate," Kaage said flatly.

"Duel!" they declared.

**Kaage: 8000**

**Raiden: 8000**

"I'll start things off," Raiden said, drawing his sixth card. "And I'll start with the Rise of a Reckoner Spell Card. This allows me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Shadow Reckoner from my hand, deck or Graveyard so I'll go with Shadow Reckoner Assassin."

He retrieved the card and then placed it on his duel disk. A slim woman dressed in black with black fingerless gloves and black boots wielding a dagger in each hand appeared and crouched down (A: 1000/D: 800).

"The only downside is that she'll be destroyed during the End Phase, but she won't even be here for that long, though. Sorry, Assassin," Raiden said, glancing at the assassin, who shrugged.

'_No problem, Raiden. I already know you're planning on bringing out my twin at some point, anyway,_' she said.

Raiden nodded. "I tribute Shadow Reckoner Assassin in order to summon Shadow Reckoner Storm Knight in Attack Mode," he said. Assassin vanished and was replaced by a tall young man in black and dark-blue armor with stormy-blue gray eyes, wielding a broadsword in one hand (A: 2000/D: 200).

'_This_ _man does not look nice,_' Storm Knight said lowly.

"He isn't. And because Storm Knight was successfully Normal Summoned, I can use his effect to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Shadow Reckoner monster from my hand or deck so I choose to Special Summon another Shadow Reckoner Assassin from my deck in Defense Mode," Raiden added and an identical copy of the assassin from early appeared on the field and crouched down, holding her daggers defensively in front of her (A: 1000/D: 800).

"And I'll end my turn with that," Raiden said.

"That's it? Pity," Kaage said, drawing a card. "I will start by activating Dark World Dealings. So now we each draw a card and then discard another." They did so and Kaage added, "And because I discarded him with a card effect, I can now Special Summon Lucent, Netherlord of Dark World to my field in Attack Mode."

There was a flash of light and the large fiendish monster in white and purple armor with two horns jutting out of its head appeared (A: 2400/D: 0).

"And then I'll use my Normal Summon to summon Zure, Knight of Dark World in Attack Mode," Kaage added and his fiend-knight appeared with his tattered cloak over one shoulder (A: 1800/D: 1500).

"Now, Lucent, attack Storm Knight," Kaage ordered. The netherlord immediately started forward.

"And I activate the effect of Shadow Reckoner Watchman in my hand, which I drew thanks to Dark World Dealings, so thanks for that," Raiden said, lifting up the card. "His effect is that I can discard him and, during the Damage Step, one Shadow Reckoner monster I control gains 1500 Attack and I'll lend that power to Storm Knight."

Storm Knight smirked as his power increased (A: 2000-3500).

"Storm Knight, counterattack, Storm Slash," Raiden ordered.

Storm Knight nodded and met the netherlord in the center of the field, shouting out a battle cry and slicing through the fiend, causing him to shatter.

**Kaage: 6900**

**Raiden: 8000**

Assassin sweatdropped. '_Why does he always do that?_' she wondered aloud.

"I honestly have no clue, Assassin," Raiden said with a shake of his head.

"If you're done talking to yourself, I believe it is still my turn," Kaage said, pointing toward the assassin. "Zure, attack that assassin."

Zure immediately shot forward and Assassin shouted in surprise as the knight's blade cut through her, causing her to shatter.

"And I will end my turn with two facedowns," the psychopath added (Storm Knight A: 3500-2000).

"Then I draw," Raiden said, drawing a card and then placing it on his duel disk. "I set this monster in facedown Defense Mode." A horizontal facedown appeared at his feet as he held up another card and added, "And I use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy one of your facedowns."

One of the facedowns on Kaage's field was sent flying away.

"Now, Storm Knight, attack Zure, Storm Slash," Raiden ordered and his knight, again with that battle cry of his, dashed forward and cut through Zure, turning him into golden pixels.

**Kaage: 6700**

**Raiden: 8000**

"And I will end with that," Raiden added.

"My draw, then," Kaage said, drawing a card and then he pressed a button on his duel disk. "And I activate the Reckless Greed Trap. This allows me to draw two more times, so long as I skip my next two Draw Phases."

He drew two more times and then placed a card on his duel disk. "And then I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World in Attack Mode," he said.

His fiendish mad king appeared on the field with a tilt of the head and a cackle (A: 1800/D: 400).

"And then I activate the Continuous Spell, Solidarity, which increases the Attack of all Fiends on my field by 800 because I only have Fiends in the Graveyard," Kaage added, inserting the card and his mad king let out another insane laugh as his power increased (A: 1800-2600).

"Now go, Brron, destroy Storm Knight," the psychopath ordered.

His mad-king, cackling yet again, shot forward and struck Storm Knight hard enough that, with a shout of surprise, the knight shattered. Raiden winced as the aftershock struck him, but otherwise didn't do anything.

**Kaage: 6700**

**Raiden: 7400**

"And because Brron dealt Battle Damage, I can discard a card and, since I discarded my Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World with a card effect, I can Special Summon him to the field. So arise, Wu-Lord of Dark World," Kaage said firmly.

A vicious-looking fiend with glowing red eyes and dark-blue and gold armor appeared on the field, holding his ax ready to attack (A: 2300-3100/D: 1400).

"And now I'll have Goldd attack your facedown monster," Kaage added.

The golden Fiend charged forth, bringing his ax down on the horizontal facedown card on the field, forcing it to flip over, revealing Raiden's silver-haired duel spirit partner, Shadow Reckoner Rogue (A: 800/D: 1000).

"Shadow Reckoner Rogue's effect activates," Raiden announced. "When she's flipped face-up, I'm allowed to add Shadow Reckoner Fire Lady and Fatal Alliance from my deck to my hand."

He was able to do just that, but since Rogue's Defense was no match for Goldd's power, she was destroyed soon afterwards.

"I'll end my turn with that," Kaage finished.

Raiden drew a card, eyeing the Wu-Lord. _That is a strong card,_ he thought and looked at the card he just drew. _This could work._ "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot, so that we each draw three cards," he said and he and Kaage each drew three cards.

"And then I activate Fatal Alliance Spell Card and remove Fire Lady and Shadow Reckoner Guardian in my hand from play in order to Fusion Summon Shadow Reckoner Fire Guardian in Attack Mode," Raiden added, pocketing those two cards and then placing another card on the duel disk.

A muscular warrior in black-and-red armor with an axe in one hand and a shield depicting a flame outlined in black on his back appeared, raising his axe threateningly as he fixed fiery red eyes on Kaage (A: 2600/D: 2300).

"Next, I activate Rush Recklessly, giving him 700 extra Attack," he said, holding up another card and Fire Guardian smirked as he was surrounded by bright flames (A: 2600-3300).

"Now, Fire Guardian, attack Goldd," Raiden ordered.

'_It_ _will be my pleasure,_' Fire Guardian said and shot forward, slamming his axe into Goldd, causing the wu-lord to cry out as he shattered.

**Kaage: 6500**

**Raiden: 7400**

"And then I will place these two cards facedown and end my turn," Raiden added, inserting two cards into his duel disk as Fire Guardian returned to his side of the field (A: 3300-2600).

"Hmph, so you got in a shot. It won't matter," Kaage said. "Because of Reckless Greed, I've got to skip my Draw Phase, but since you were kind enough to let me draw a few cards when you activated your Spellbook Inside the Pot, I think I'll play one of them, now. I sacrifice Brron to summon Fabled Soulkius in Attack Mode."

In a flash of light, Brron vanished, being replaced by a pale-skinned fiend with giant bat-like wings, a dark green reptile tail, and a pair of raven's wings coming out of his muscular arms. He wore black and gold armor, along with a devilish red and black mask over his face (A: 2200-3000/D: 2100).

Raiden's eyes widened. _A Fabled monster? And a pretty strong one at that. I thought he only ran a Dark World deck,_ he thought, surprised by the new monster's appearance.

"Now, I'll have Soulkius attack your Fire Guardian," Kaage said.

"I activate Fire Guardian's effect. When you declare an attack on him, I can negate the attack once per turn," Raiden said quickly and Fire Guardian removed the shield on his back and used it to block Soulkius, who had lunged at him.

"Fine, I end my turn," Kaage huffed.

Raiden drew a card. "I summon Shadow Reckoner Watchman in Attack Mode."

An armored man with a visored helmet over his head, wielding a staff in one hand appeared (A: 1500/D: 1300).

"Next, I activate my Trap, Dark Flare," Raiden said, revealing a Trap that depicted a monster being enveloped by dark flames with Fire Guardian standing in the background. "This allows me to return any number of face-up Shadow Reckoner monsters on my field to my hand and I can destroy the same number of monsters on your field. I'll return Shadow Reckoner Watchman to my hand to destroy Fabled Soulkius." He retrieved the card and dark flames immediately erupted around Soulkius, causing him to scream as he was burned to a crisp.

"Now, Shadow Reckoner Fire Guardian, attack Kaage directly," Raiden ordered. "This is for Kasumi!"

Fire Guardian grinned and shot forward with a shout before his axe crashed into Kaage causing him to growl in pain as he staggered backwards.

**Kaage: 3900**

**Raiden: 7400**

"I'll end my turn there," he finished.

"It's my turn but, again, because of Reckless Greed, I have to skip my Draw Phase," Kaage began before smirking. "Fortunately for me, I still have plenty to work with in my hand, though."

"I really don't like the sound of that…" Raiden muttered under his breath.

"Then you're really not going to enjoy this," Kaage snickered, grinning even wider. "I activate the effect of Fabled Soulkius in my Graveyard: By sending two cards in my hand, except another Fabled Soulkius, to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon it to the field."

And Kaage did exactly that, sending both Scarr, Scout of Dark World and Fabled Topi to the Graveyard, allowing Soulkius to rise once more (A: 2200-3000/D: 2100).

"And since I still haven't Normal Summoned yet, I'll bring out Fabled Gallabas in Attack Mode."

A dark green and grey demon wielding a flail with a spike ball bigger than his head took a place next to Soulkius (A: 1500-2300/D: 800).

"Next, I activate Gallabas's effect," Kaage went on. "By discarding one card in my hand to the Graveyard, I can destroy one face-up monster my opponent controls with a Defense less than or equal to Gallabas's Attack. And since his Attack is currently 2300, that's just enough to take out your Fire Guardian, whose Defense Points are exactly 2300. Go, Gallabas!"

After Kaage ditched the last card in his hand, Gallabas began swinging around his flail wildly before sending the giant spike ball flying in Fire Guardian's direction, instantly destroying him the moment it made contact with him.

"And since the card I discarded was Fabled Lurrie, its effect allows me to Special Summon it."

A little mask-wearing winged devil child then appeared next to Kaage's other monsters (A: 200-1000/D: 400).

"Now, Soulkius, direct attack!" Kaage ordered.

"I don't think so! I activate Negate Attack, stopping your attack and ending the Battle Phase," Raiden shouted, revealing his facedown card.

Kaage growled at that, not happy that his chance to get ahead had been blocked like that. "Since I can do nothing more, I end my turn," he snarled.

Raiden mutely drew a card. "I summon Shadow Reckoner Watchman back to the field in Attack Mode," he said and his armored warrior soon reappeared on the field (A: 1500/D: 1300).

"Now, Watchman, attack Lurrie," Raiden ordered and Watchman dashed forward and struck Kaage's weakest monster with his staff, destroying it. Kaage growled as his Life Points fell.

**Kaage: 3400**

**Raiden: 7400**

"I will place this facedown and end my turn with that," Raiden said, another reverse card appearing at his feet.

Kaage drew a card. "I activate Graceful Charity," he said. "Now I draw three cards and discard two."

He did so and then smirked. "And because I discarded both Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World and Sillva, Warlord of Dark World, they both are Special Summoned to the field."

The spear-wielding Fiend (A: 1600-2400/D: 1300) and the large purple armored Fiend with the bone-shaped dagger (A: 2300-3100/D: 1400) both appeared on the field.

"And then I'll discard a card to use Fabled Gallabas's effect one more time," the psychotic duelist added, discarding the remaining card in his hand. "Since his Attack is greater than your Watchman's Defense, your monster's instantly destroyed!"

Gallabas once again used his mighty flail to blast Raiden's monster off the field.

"And because I discarded The Fabled Ganashia, its effects allow me to Special Summon it." A bipedal purple elephant with large white tusks emerged on the field with a loud roar (A: 1600/D: 1000).

"Due to Ganashia's effect, since it was Special Summoned by its own effect, it now gains 200 Attack Points," Kaage smirked as Ganashia grew stronger (A: 1600-1800/D: 1000).

"Now, to finish you off once and for all," Kaage thundered. "Sillva, attack that brat directly!"

"I activate my Trap, Draining Shield!" Raiden quickly interjected as his facedown card sprang upwards, causing a clear green barrier to form around him, making Sillva hit that instead of him. "This card not only negates your monster's attack, but now I also gain Life Points equal to Sillva's Attack."

**Kaage: 3400**

**Raiden: 10500**

Snarling in fury, Kaage shouted, "You may have blocked that attack, but there's still plenty more where that came from! Go, my monsters!"

With that, Kaage's four remaining monsters assaulted Raiden with their various attacks, one after the other, dealing him 9500 points of damage in all.

**Kaage: 3400**

**Raiden: 1000**

"And, since there isn't much more that I can do, I end my turn. I will just defeat you next time. You can't win," Kaage growled, glaring at Raiden.

Raiden glared back at him as he drew a card. "Your arrogance is going to cost you, big time," he said before playing the card he had just picked up. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards."

When Raiden saw the new cards he had acquired, he smirked. "This duel's over," he declared.

"Oh?" Kaage questioned. "Does that mean you're surrendering?"

"No way. I don't give up," Raiden said and held up one of the cards he had just drawn. "I activate Monster Reborn. Since I sent him to the Graveyard way back when you activated Dark World Dealings, I'll now Special Summon Shadow Reckoner Silver Wyvern in Attack Mode."

In a burst of shadows, a beautiful silver wyvern with large, glittering wings, long sharp claws on its two legs and glowing red eyes appeared, hovering right above Raiden (A: 2500/D: 2500).

"Big deal," Kaage sneered. "Even though it's stronger than a few of my monsters, Soulkius or Sillva will still be able to destroy it easily enough."

"Well, that won't be the case for much longer, because now I activate Megamorph, equipping it to Silver Wyvern," Raiden went on, inserting the card into his duel disk. "Thanks to this card, since my Life Points are currently lower than yours, my monster's original Attack Points are doubled."

Surrounded by a red aura, Silver Wyvern's Attack suddenly shot up (A: 2500-5000/D: 2500).

While 5000 Attack Points currently did make it the strongest monster on the field, Kaage still didn't see how that was supposed to end the duel this turn. After all, he would still have some Life Points left, no matter which monster Raiden decided to have Silver Wyvern attack.

"Finally, I play Reckoner's Fury!" Raiden announced, activating the last card in his hand. "With this, I can select one Shadow Reckoner monster on my field; for this turn only, that monster is the only one that can attack."

"And what's the point of that?" Kaage demanded.

"This card's second effect," Raiden said, smirking at Kaage. "The selected monster can attack my opponent directly!"

And there it was. "No!" Kaage shrieked, eyes wide with shock.

"This is for Alexis and Kyle! Silver Wyvern, take him out! Silver Dark Stream!" Raiden shouted.

The wyvern roared before unleashing a beam of black and silver energy that twisted together into a single beam before it slammed into Kaage, sending the bastard flying to the ground.

**Kaage: 0**

**Raiden: 1000 WINNER**

"That's game," Raiden said coolly as the holograms vanished, Rogue hovering in spirit form next to him.

Kaage snarled in fury as he got to his feet, glaring hatred-filled daggers at Raiden. "You weren't supposed to beat me! I was supposed to win!" he screamed, his eyes dancing with madness as he glared furiously at Raiden. "You were supposed to lose! That was supposed to break the little monster! You ruined my entire plan!" With a burst of speed that took Raiden by surprise, Kaage was across the floor and he tackled the shocked Raiden to the ground.

'_Raiden!_' Rogue screamed as Raiden, pulling himself swiftly from his shock, struggled to break free from the psychopath's grip. Suddenly a searing agony surged through him, causing him to scream in pain as the knife Raiden didn't even know Kaage had on him buried itself in his stomach, blood spurting out but Kaage didn't seem to notice that the blood had gotten on him.

"I wanted your soul," Kaage snarled, "but your life will work just as well. As for my end of the bargain, I never had any intention on keeping it." He then yanked the knife out, causing another scream of pain to escape Raiden's lips before he got to his feet.

Raiden remained where he lay, gasping, pain surging through his body as blood seeped from the vicious wound in his stomach. He could still feel the blood coming out at such a rapid pace that he knew it wouldn't be long before he passed out from blood loss.

"Won't be long before you die, boy," Kaage snarled and then smirked, "Goodbye, brother to the little monster." With a maniacal laugh, the crazy bastard vanished into the shadows.

'_Raiden! Oh dear, Raiden! Stay with us!_' Rogue screamed, trying to get Raiden's attention.

Raiden, struggling to remain conscious, tried to move, but his body felt like lead; he was losing blood, fast, very fast, but he was surprised that he was still conscious. Rogue remained crouched at his side, her face conflicted as if she didn't know what to do but then her face set with determination and, suddenly, she was kneeling at his side and Raiden could _feel_ her.

"Wha...?" he began weakly, eyes wide with shock.

'_I_ _cannot maintain this form for long, but I can long enough to call for help to try to stop the bleeding,_' Rogue said, fishing through Raiden's pockets for his phone and then dialing 911.

"But...But...how?" Raiden whispered, confused. He didn't think this was possible.

'_Your_ _brother can do the same thing, but I have never tried it with you. I knew it was possible because...because I felt it,_' Rogue whispered and then placed started talking into the phone, telling them that they needed to hurry.

Raiden was about to ask what Rogue felt but Rogue was already talking on the phone, surprising Raiden yet again with the ease with which she handled the situation before she placed the phone on the ground and placed her hands over the wound.

'_They_ _are on their way. I'm leaving the phone on so that they can track the position,_' Rogue said.

Raiden didn't know how much time had passed by. Rogue was still solid though every now and then she would flicker and then the sirens sounded. Rogue breathed a sigh of relief and then gazed down at the barely conscious and still very confused Raiden. '_I_ _will explain all when you get better,_' she whispered and then returned to her spirit form.

The door to the building slammed open and a voice shouted, "Over here!" and that was the last thing Raiden heard before unconsciousness claimed him.

**. . .**

_Shadow Reckoner Silver Wyvern_

9

DARK

Dragon-effect

ATK: 2500

DEF: 2500

This card gains 300 ATK and DEF for each monster with "Shadow Reckoner" in its name on the field, except "Shadow Reckoner Silver Wyvern".

_Shadow Reckoner Fire Guardian_

"Shadow Reckoner Fire Lady" + "Shadow Reckoner Guardian"

8

DARK

Pyro-effect

ATK; 2600

DEF: 2300

Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. When this card is selected as an attack target, you can negate the attack. You can only activate this effect once per turn.

_Shadow Reckoner Storm Knight_

6

DARK

Warrior-effect

ATK: 2000

DEF: 200

When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster with "Shadow Reckoner" in its name from your hand or Deck.

_Shadow Reckoner Watchman_

4

DARK

Warrior-effect

ATK: 1500

DEF: 1300

When a "Shadow Reckoner" monster you control is attacked, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard during the Damage Step to have that monster gain 1500 ATK until the End Phase.

_Shadow Reckoner Rogue_

3

DARK

Warrior-effect

ATK: 800

DEF: 1000

FLIP: Add 1 "Shadow Reckoner" monster and 1 "Fatal Alliance" from your Deck to your hand.

_Shadow Reckoner Assassin_

3

DARK

Warrior

ATK: 1000

DEF: 800

_Rise of a Reckoner_

Normal Spell

Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Shadow Reckoner" from your hand, deck or Graveyard. Destroy it during the End Phase.

_Fatal Alliance_

Normal Spell

Remove from play, from your hand or your Graveyard, the Fusion Material Monsters listed on a "Shadow Reckoner" Fusion Monster Card, and Special Summon that monster from your Extra Deck. (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon.)

_Dark Flare_

Normal Trap

Return any number of face-up "Shadow Reckoner" monsters you control to your hand, to destroy the same number of monsters your opponent controls.

_Reckoner's Fury_

Normal Spell

Select 1 "Shadow Reckoner" monster you control. During this turn, only the selected monster can attack and it can attack your opponent directly.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: whoa, I did not see that coming!**

**Bakura: (scoffs) of course you did, foolish mortal, you wrote it!**

**Blaze: (pouts) don't be a meanie, Fluffy**

**Bakura: (eye twitches) **_**don't call me Fluffy!**_

**Blaze: all righty then, Florence!**

**Bakura: (eye twitches even more) **_**don't call me that either!**_

**Jaden: (raises eyebrow) okay then (pulls out flaming machete) if you'll excuse me, Haou and I are off to kill Kaage!**

**Haou: (pulls out flamethrower) and any other guy you don't like that we happen to find along the way**

**Yami Marik: I'm joining you (pulls out lightsaber [again, I don't own **_**Star Wars**_**])**

**Bakura: (pulls out bazooka) you are not leaving me out of this**

**Jaden, Haou, Yami Marik and Bakura: (take off to go kill Kaage and any other character that Blaze doesn't like that just happens to be in their way)**

**Blaze: (pushes Slade, Jagger and Viper in their way)**

**Yuya: hi**

**Yugo: hi!**

**Yuto: hello**

**Blaze: hiya, newbies! Welcome to the corner of insanity! And I don't own **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V**_**by the way.**

**Yugo: corner...of...insanity?**

**Yuya: should I be scared?**

**Jesse: yes, yes you should**

**Yuto: ...**

**Blaze: well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and, yeah, rereading the chapter, I realized that there were actually **_**two **_**twists in this chapter, one of which is small but the ending is...like...wow!**

**Darth: I liked it**

**Blaze: (rolls eyes) you **_**always **_**like it. Anyway, before this author's note gets even longer, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter (and yes, I know I said that twice) and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	15. A Sister's Secret

**Well, things are starting to wind down with only four chapters (after this one) left in this story. Now that I think about it, with this story ending in about four weeks, I really should get off my lazy ass and get to work getting as far into **_**White Radiance **_**as I can. At the moment, I'm only halfway done with Chapter 7.**

**Anyway, thank you to **_**DarkZorua100, Guest, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, dragonrider90, Sorcerer of the Stories, weather741, KiritoKirigaya-SAO, a1993, EndlessNight025, decode9, iloveyugiohGX93, Sophhascoconuts **_**and **_**Lightclaw's Shadow **_**for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**And, as usual, a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader.**

**Well, I do hope that you enjoy this chapter and, as always, reviews are much appreciated.**

**15**

**A Sister's Secret**

Kaage paced, muttering to himself, upset at the loss he had suffered at the hands of the little monster's older brother. He had been so sure that he could beat Raiden Yuki because he knew Raiden's deck, and had the help of someone who had seen Raiden Yuki in action before, but Raiden managed to beat him. He cursed his overconfidence in that situation and cursed Raiden Yuki for being able to outsmart him in the end.

'_You_ _sure are a sore loser,_' Dark Shadow mused.

_And you aren't?_ Kaage retorted as he paced.

'_I_ _don't go around stabbing people just because they beat me in a duel,_' Dark Shadow said dryly.

Kaage barked out a laugh._ Oh please. Yes, I killed that bastard but it wasn't because he beat me, well, not entirely anyway, _he thought.

'_You_ _did it because you had the opportunity and decided not to let it go to waste,_' Dark Shadow surmised. '_You did want to kill his father but decided to kill him instead, yes?_'

_You could look at it that way. Besides, hearing him scream like that..._ Kaage's lips twisted into a sadistic grin. _That was delicious._

Kaage stopped pacing and turned his attention to the bare window in his hideout. _Well, I suppose I should try to find that little girl while she is dealing with being a monster and a murderer just like her brother,_ he thought.

'_Are_ _you going to kill her, too?_'

_If she, somehow, manages to beat me, I will, though that's unlikely. Raiden Yuki beat me out of sheer luck after all,_ Kaage thought. _And taking someone's soul is worse than kill them, though I do have fun doing either._

He chuckled to himself. "Now, where, oh where, would an emotionally distraught teenage girl hide out after running away like that?" he murmured to himself.

**. . .**

Rogue hovered anxiously over her partner's side as the ambulance, sirens wailing, moved rapidly toward the hospital in the distance. Raiden was still unconscious and the paramedics were still working hard to keep him stabilized until they could get him to the ER. From what the paramedics had said, Raiden had lost a lot of blood, but there wasn't much they could do, other than keep him stable, until they got to the hospital.

"He was lucky that woman was able to call for help, though I do wonder what happened to her," one paramedic had said to another when they first arrived soon after Raiden had fallen unconscious.

Rogue had simply hovered anxiously over them, watching as they worked quickly to try to save Raiden's life. She fervently hoped that they would be able to do so and she wished she could have done something to help. Of course, she hadn't known whether she could make herself solid or not yet or else she would have attacked that crazy bastard herself.

She knew Raiden had the ability simply because of his connection with Jaden and the fact that Rogue could feel the power within Raiden that he hadn't yet awakened. She also only knew what that power was because she had felt it when Jaden had called upon his own power; weakened though she was by the presence of the Sacred Beasts, Rogue was still able to feel Jaden's power and was able to notice that it felt similar to the power that lay dormant within Raiden.

She didn't know why that was, and there really wasn't much she could tell Raiden when he woke up, even though she said she would explain everything, but she would do her best to explain what happened and how she did what she did.

However, right now, Raiden's life was hanging by a thread, and so Rogue simply focused on clinging on to the hope that her partner would make it out of this alive.

She would focus on answering questions afterwards.

**. . .**

It was early the following morning and the sun had yet to begin its ascent into the sky. Kasumi woke up, not realizing she had fallen asleep, and gazed around, trying to remember where she was and how she got there. It came back to her and Kasumi sat up on the park bench she had fallen asleep on. It was still early and Kasumi figured no one would be out at that time of day, which was why no one had woken her up to tell her that she wasn't allowed to be there, or help her find her way back to the hotel.

Shire was the one who woke her up. Kasumi had told her to wake her up if there was an emergency or before the sun got up so that she could start moving. She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be in the park that late at night anyway.

Getting to her feet and rubbing her neck—Kasumi resolved never to sleep on a park bench again—she looked around, thankful to be back to somewhat more familiar surroundings. She recognized the park she had fallen asleep in as the one that she and the others had passed by on their way to Iolani Palace back when they had been exploring.

Back when they didn't have a psychopath hell-bent on vengeance on their tail.

Back when her friends didn't know about her powers, didn't know that she was a freak and a murderer.

'_Kasumi_...!' Shire snapped. '_You_ _are not..._'

_Yeah, yeah, I know,_ Kasumi thought, pushing her own feelings away at the moment. Shire was a delight to have around; she acted like a child at times, always excited and eager and hyper. She could make Kasumi smile by doing the simplest of things and she reminded Kasumi a bit of how she was when she was younger.

She sighed. When she had been younger, things were so much simpler. It was just her, her parents and her younger twin sister, Hikari. She did love living with the Yukis and she did see them as her family, but she would always miss the parents who had raised her and the sister whom she loved. She didn't even know what happened to Hikari after she ran away and her parents...

Kasumi lowered her head, feeling tears appear in her eyes. Her parents... They had always been there for her, supported her, made her laugh and held her when she cried. And she had killed them.

Kaage was right. She was a murderer.

Kasumi wiped the tears from her eyes and gazed around. She couldn't help but wonder if her friends were worried about her, if her brothers were worried about her, if her adopted dad was worried about her. Were they looking for her? Or had they given up? Were the police searching for her, or were they too focused on finding Kaage Naka? Did her friends or family even care enough to try to find her?

'_Of course they care, Kasumi,_' Shire scolded. '_They_ _do love you and I'm sure they're looking for you right now._'

But it's dangerous with Kaage around, Kasumi thought. That thought made her realize that she didn't want to take away from the search for Kaage. He was the bigger threat at the moment, so she resolved to find her own way back to the hotel. She recognized where she was; now all she had to do was remember how to get back to the hotel from where she was.

The sun appeared on the horizon, bathing the sleeping city in fire as Kasumi started walking, heading in what she hoped was the right direction. She hadn't really been paying attention when she and the rest of the gang had headed toward Iolani Palace, but she remembered which direction the palace was, so she just walked in the opposite direction.

She fervently hoped it was the right one.

**. . .**

"No news?" Kaede asked, glancing toward Matt and Emily, who had met him in the lobby of the hotel early in the morning. Everyone else was still asleep and Kaede resolved to let them sleep for the time being. He sighed. Two of his children were missing and Kaede was worried, very worried. He didn't know what to make of it since he had no idea where they could have gone.

He was still a bit upset that his children and the others had left the hotel despite a psychopath running around, but he was more worried because Kyle had ended up comatose, much like Alexis, and then Kasumi ended up going missing, and now Raiden was missing, too. It was getting too much to handle.

And it made Kaede regret, more than ever, not taking his wife's warning seriously. Perhaps none of this would have happened if he had taken his wife's warning seriously. Perhaps he could have told the police and they could have been on the lookout for Kaage before he struck.

Kaede shook his head. There was no point in dwelling on 'what ifs'. He had made a mistake, a costly one at that, and now he was going to have to deal with the consequences of his mistake.

"No," Matt said. "No news. No one's called or anything. Em and I are going to head back to the police station and let them know about Kasumi and Raiden so that they can keep a lookout for them as well."

Kaede nodded. "All right," he said. He sighed and added, "I better go call Izumi and let her know what's happened. She's not going to be happy." _With me._ The last part remained unsaid, but it did echo in the vaults of Kaede's mind, mingled with the guilt that he had been harboring for days now.

**. . .**

Jaden yawned and sat up on his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and then looking around. Guess I was more tired than I thought, he thought. He hadn't been expecting to fall asleep, but he had and, though he didn't feel at all rested, he didn't feel as tired as he had beforehand.

A knock sounded on the door and Jaden, getting to his feet, sleepily shuffled over to the door and opened it.

"Morning, Jaden," Arina greeted him. She was standing beside Chazz, who looked like he had just gotten out of bed, and Atticus, who was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Morning," Jaden said with a yawn.

"You look like you didn't get any sleep last night," Arina said.

"I didn't get much," Jaden said, stepping aside to allow his friends into the room. "Raiden's missing now."

"What?" Atticus looked shocked. "What happened?"

Jaden shook his head, walking over to his bed and sitting down. "I don't know. He was here before I went to sleep and then my dad was waking me up a few hours later asking me where he was."

"You think Kaage..." Chazz began.

"I just don't know anymore," Jaden said with a sigh. "It would make sense, really, since this wouldn't be the first time Kaage's kidnapped someone, but I just don't understand why. He told me where I could find both Alexis and Kyle, and yet I haven't received a single message from him about my brother. If he had taken my brother, wouldn't he have told me where to find it since he seems determined to force me to watch them fall or something?"

"For one, he is crazy so there's no telling what he's actually thinking, Slacker," Chazz pointed out. "He could have changed his mind for some reason and decided not to have witnesses this time."

"Maybe, though why?"

No one seemed to have an answer to that, though Arina looked thoughtful. "Maybe he just doesn't want you to learn enough about his playing style to be able to counteract it when he finally does go after you," she suggested.

"Maybe." Jaden fell silent for a long moment. "I hope Raiden's all right."

"I'm sure he's fine," Atticus said. "Raiden's a strong duelist. If Kaage challenged him to a duel then he's going to have a fight on his hands, and I firmly believe Raiden can beat him."

Jaden gave Atticus a small smile. "Hopefully," he said before he stood up. "I think I could go for some breakfast right now."

The rest of the remnants of the gang nodded and then followed Jaden out of the room.

After eating breakfast, the gang found themselves in the lobby where Jaden decided to try to call Raiden. Kaede, Matt, and Emily were already gone and there were no other guests in the lobby. It was empty save for the gang and the two duel spirits who had decided to make an appearance; Yubel, who was hovering behind Jaden while he attempted to call Raiden, and Ojama Yellow, who was expressing his own concern over everything that was happening to Chazz, who was glowering at him in irritation.

There wasn't much to talk about. The gang had too much on their minds, what with everything that had happened, and Jaden's own worry for his siblings was making him quiet, especially since he couldn't get in touch with Raiden.

The door to the hotel opened at that moment and the gang glanced toward it, expecting to see another guest coming to check in. So they were surprised when a very familiar girl with blue-black hair and dirty clothing stepped into the room, green eyes gazing around.

"Kas!"

Jaden jumped to his feet and was at Kasumi's side in seconds, grabbing his sister into his arms and he cradled her close to him, tears of relief falling from his eyes. "Oh thank goodness you're all right," he whispered.

Kasumi seemed surprised by the sudden hug but, slowly, she wrapped her own arms around her brother, giving him a gentle hug back.

"Where've you been?" Arina asked, concerned, as she, Chazz, and Atticus walked over to join them.

Kasumi bit her lip as she pulled back from her brother and she looked down. "I...kinda...got lost," she said softly. "And my phone died on me."

"Doesn't matter. At least you're all right. You had us all worried," Jaden said softly. He was relieved beyond belief that his sister was all right.

Tears appeared in Kasumi's eyes. "Why?" she asked.

"Why what?"

"Why were you worried about a freak like me?" the blue-black haired girl whispered.

Jaden frowned. "Kas, you're not a freak," he said firmly. "Is this about what Kaage said to you? He was wrong!"

Kasumi started sobbing, startling Jaden, who gently rubbed her back. "Was it something I said?" he asked, confused.

"No, it's just...I'm sorry," Kasumi whispered.

"There's no need to be sorry, Kas," Jaden assured her.

"I shouldn't...shouldn't have run off like that," Kasumi said softly. "I just...I didn't...I couldn't..." She broke off and started sobbing again.

Jaden rubbed her back gently again. "Let's go up to my room and we can talk about this, okay?"

Kasumi nodded slowly and Jaden guided her toward the elevator, Chazz, Arina, and Atticus followed after them. Jaden didn't protest, though that was primarily because he was too focused on calming his sister down.

It didn't take them long to reach Jaden's room and, once they were there, they all sat down. Jaden and Kasumi on Jaden's bed and Arina, Chazz and Atticus on Raiden's.

"Why did you run off like that, Kas?" Jaden asked.

Kasumi bit her lip and then looked down.

"Was it about what Kaage said? Like I said before, he was wrong. He doesn't know you, Kas. You wouldn't hurt anyone, let alone kill anyone," Jaden said.

Kasumi's eyes filled with tears again and she looked away, biting her lip.

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to," Jaden said.

"I just...I...don't know...if I'm...ready for everyone to know just yet," Kasumi said quietly.

"Can you give us some privacy?" Jaden asked, glancing at Chazz, Arina, and Atticus.

Atticus got to his feet and nodded. "All right, Jaden," he said and he, Chazz, and Arina left the room.

Jaden turned his attention back to his sister and waited as patiently as he could for Kasumi to start talking. She was silent for a long moment, biting her lip, unsure of where to begin, but then just decided to start from the beginning.

"This happened about eight or so months before your family adopted me," she began quietly. "You see, my parents started having a lot of problems with their marriage ever since my younger sister ran away. They would fight a lot, each blaming the other for her disappearance. It got to the point that I spent quite a bit of my time in my room, trying to ignore the yelling. It didn't help much. Then they decided that they were going to get a divorce. Normally, I wouldn't have minded that, if they had told me what they were going to do. Instead, Mom just came up to me one day and told me to pack my bags because we were leaving. Dad started yelling at her, telling her that I was to stay with him. They started shouting at each other, telling the other about whom I was going to stay with. I was just getting angry because they weren't even bothering on asking me whom I wanted to stay with. They were treating me like…like property! I was getting so angry. I loved them, I did, but I was just so angry that they didn't bother on asking me my opinion."

Kasumi closed her eyes, tears falling from her eyes. "My power acted up. It always acts up when I have no control over my emotions, especially if I'm really angry or upset, or both. In this case, it was both. My power lashed out and I accidentally set everything on fire. I panicked and ran out of there. I didn't understand what was happening, as that was the first time my power had actually acted up, and I was just scared. I wanted to get out of there. I should have stayed and made sure my parents were okay, but I was just so scared about what happened." She choked out a sob, her eyes still closed.

Jaden curled his arm around his sister's shoulders and held her as she sobbed. It was a couple of minutes before she was able to calm down enough to be able to continue talking.

"T…The firemen came then and put out the flames but it was too late for my parents, even before the house collapsed. The firemen had gone inside to get them but they were already dead by the time the firemen got to them. I don't know why they didn't leave when they saw that the house was on fire. Maybe they were in shock. It all happened so fast. But I…But I did kill them. It's my fault they're dead," Kasumi sobbed.

Jaden rubbed Kasumi's back gently and didn't stop until he could feel her start to relax against him. She was still crying softly but, at least, she was calming down at bit.

"It isn't your fault, Kas," Jaden said gently.

Kasumi lifted her head and stared at Jaden, who smiled at her.

"It isn't," he said. "Your power just got outta hand, but you had no idea what was happening. You didn't even know you had this power before this incident, did you?"

Kasumi shook her head. The accident that often left what friends she did have when she was growing up with burns hadn't been caused by her power. She didn't know why she knew that, but she knew that it was something else entirely. She just didn't know what.

"So how could you have known how to control it?"

"I…I guess you're right," Kasumi said slowly.

"You're not in this alone, Kas," Jaden said quietly. "Both of us have done things that we had no control over, but we just gotta remember that we couldn't control what happened. I still love ya, little sis, and I always will. Nothing you did will ever change that."

Kasumi gazed up at him and gave him a small smile before she leaned against him. "Thank you," she whispered.

Jaden patted his sister's back. "You're welcome," he said. "Now where have you been all night?"

"I got lost, like I said," Kasumi said quietly. "It was pretty late when I reached that park I remembered us passing when we went to Iolani Palace and I just...kinda fell asleep there. Shire kept lookout for me, though."

"Well, at least you're all right," Jaden murmured. "Though you are still gonna have to explain, at least in part, what happened in that warehouse to Chazz, Arina and Atticus. They all saw what ya did."

"I know. I just...I'm afraid of...how they'll react," Kasumi murmured.

"Personally, I think you're powers, though dangerous, are really sweet," Jaden said with a smile. "And I'm sure they won't think any less of you once they find out about your powers."

"True," Kasumi said, thinking back to when she had first told Alexis about her powers after her duel against Nightshroud. "Alexis didn't."

Jaden smiled sadly. "Yeah, that sounds like Alexis," he murmured, thinking to his beautiful girlfriend, who was still comatose in the hospital because of Kaage, the damn bastard.

"Want me to go get Chazz, Arina, and Atticus so you can tell them? Or do you want to wait?" Jaden asked, pushing thoughts of the psychopath out of his mind for the moment before his anger overcame him.

"Might...Might as well get it over with," Kasumi said quietly.

Jaden patted Kasumi's shoulder gently and got to his feet, leaving the room to track down his friends.

**. . .**

'_So, planning on sticking with the kidnapping her and convincing/forcing her to duel you thing?_' Dark Shadow asked.

Kaage snorted. _Of course. It's probably my easiest way of getting my prey,_ he thought.

'_And_ _what's to stop her from burning you to a crisp?_' Dark Shadow asked, sounding very amused.

Kaage scowled at the reminder of what that little bitch had done to him. _I doubt she will use that power again. We both saw how she reacted when she used that power the first time. Her using it again to 'burn me to a crisp', as you call it, is unlikely. Besides, I doubt she'll even think about doing that. She is rather emotionally distraught at the moment._

'_So_ _then what do you plan on doing?_'

_The same thing that I did with Raiden Yuki. Offer a deal in exchange for a duel. Perhaps threaten her father like I did with Raiden Yuki, though I'm not sure if it will work or not. Hmm,_ Kaage trailed off silently as his mind began to turn cogs in his head.

**. . .**

"So, just to clarify, you can create fire out of thin air, block it, and control it?" Atticus asked.

Kasumi nodded slowly. Well, unless I'm upset or angry, then I can't control it at all, she thought.

"Sounds...interesting," Atticus mused.

"Pretty dangerous, too," Arina commented.

"Gotta admit, I was surprised when you did that to Kaage," Chazz said, "but it just makes you different and there's nothing the matter with that."

"You...You guys don't think I'm a freak?" Kasumi asked uncertainly.

"Of course not," Arina said with a smile. "You're our friend, Kasumi, and we like you, regardless of what you can do."

Atticus nodded in agreement.

"Well, at least you aren't crazy like the Slacker over there," Chazz said with a shrug and then winced when Arina elbowed him in the side. "Ow!"

Kasumi gave a small chuckle at that before she gazed around with a frown. "By the way, where's Raiden?" she asked.

Jaden sighed. "He's been missing since last night," he admitted.

"What happened?"

"No one knows," Atticus said.

"He was there when I went to sleep," Jaden said.

"Did you try calling him?"

"Once, but he didn't answer, but then you showed up so I haven't tried again yet," Jaden admitted.

Kasumi nodded slowly. "Well, try now," she suggested.

Jaden nodded and reached over to pick up his phone. Before he could dial his brother's number, the voice that everyone had grown to hate over the course of the past few days echoed around them.

"Hello again, little monster."

Jaden growled. "Kaage," he hissed.

A chuckle echoed around them. "I'm not here for you yet, little monster," Kaage said. "After taking out my third victim that was close to you, I decided that my last victim would be taken out with witnesses."

"Third victim?" Atticus repeated.

Jaden narrowed his eyes, a bad feeling going through him. "What third victim?" he demanded.

"Tsk, tsk, that's not important right now. Right now, it's time I took out my final victim in this little game of mine," Kaage said. "Little Kasumi."

"You better stay away from my sister," Jaden hissed furiously.

Kaage chuckled. "What makes you think I will do that? What's to stop me from kidnapping her just like I did your little girlfriend, little monster?" he said. "On that note..."

And the lights in the room went out, plunging the occupants into darkness.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, I hope the explanation for Kasumi's powers, and what happened to her parents, was clear, though I altered the explanation just slightly because of something my beta-reader pointed out**

**Darth: I liked it**

**Blaze: you **_**always **_**like it**

**Yuya: hi**

**Yugo: hi**

**Yuto: hello**

**Kurosaki: why am I here?**

**Blaze: I was bored so I invited you all to my corner of insanity**

**Kurosaki: (raises eyebrow) corner...of...insanity?**

**Yugo: that's what I said**

**Yuto: no one wanted your two-cents, Pawn of Fusion**

**Yugo: (glares at Yuto) MY NAME IS YUGO!**

**Darth: (blinks) I don't get it**

**Blaze: inside joke that those who've watched the subbed version of ARC-V will get. It makes more sense when it's spoken out loud in Japanese. Basically speaking, yuugou, which is Japanese for Fusion, sounds like Yugo**

**Darth: oh**

**Bakura: (blows up KaibaCorp Headquarters)**

**Blaze: (facepalms) seriously, Bakura?**

**Bakura: what? I was bored and he has enough money to rebuild it. Plus, I'll just blame it on the Pharaoh**

**Yami: (glares)**

**Blaze: (sighs) well, anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter (even if it was a bit shorter than I thought it would be). There are only four more chapters after this chapter and one more duel, since I (following some advice from my beta-reader) did a little something...different for the Kaage/Kasumi confrontation. I hope you guys like it but you'll have to wait until next week for it. As always, reviews are much appreciated.**


	16. Revenge, Part IV

**First thing's first, this story is now officially **_**eighteen **_**chapters long instead of nineteen and that is primarily because of some things my beta-reader pointed out. (And, frankly, I suppose I'm getting to the point in which I just want Kaage to die already) so the next chapter shall be the showdown between Kaage and Jaden and the following chapter will be where I tie up any loose ends, kinda like an epilogue of sorts.**

**Anyway, I hope I did this chapter justice. I changed some things based on what my beta-reader suggested but I'm not that great with actual **_**fight **_**scenes (though I'm getting better at duels so that's good ^_^).**

**Thank you to **_**DarkZorau100, EndlessNight025, sophhascoconuts, KiritoKirigaya-SAO, decode9, iloveyugiohGX93, Sorcerer of the Stories, a1993 **_**and **_**Kamen Rider Dragon Knight **_**for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**And, as usual, a HUGE thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader! Seriously, I doubt this story would have gotten as good a reception it has without her input (and her help in pointing out things that I otherwise don't seem to notice when I'm writing). So yeah, huge thank you to her.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter (even if it's not quite what you're expecting) and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**16**

**Revenge, Part IV**

Kasumi stirred and blinked open her eyes, finding herself lying on a stone floor. She pushed herself to her feet and looked around, noticing she was the only one in a building, though she wasn't entirely sure where she was. She was pretty sure it wasn't the same place where Alexis and Kyle had fallen though. At least, it didn't look like it. She turned to the other end of the large warehouse floor as Kaage walked into the open, smirking.

"I'm not going to duel you," Kasumi said softly.

Kaage smirked. "What're you gonna do instead? Burn me to a crisp with your powers like you did with your parents?" he mocked.

Kasumi flinched. "How...?"

"I know all about the fire that destroyed your home and killed your parents and how you were the only survivor. You killed them," Kaage said.

"I...I...no, it wasn't on purpose," Kasumi said quickly.

"Sure it wasn't," Kaage said dismissively. "Not that it matters now. They're dead after all."

"How...How did you even know about that?" Kasumi demanded.

Kaage raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "You told your precious brother," he said.

"You were spying on us?"

"Really? This shocks you?" Kaage shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Have you not been paying attention the past few days?"

Kasumi glared.

"I'm actually rather surprised those friends of yours don't see you as the freak you are," Kaage mocked. "A freaky little girl who killed her parents."

"I...I..."

"What's to stop you from killing your friends or your brother? You didn't care when you killed your parents, why should you care about them at all?"

"I do...I do care...I love them..."

"But do they love you? How could anyone love a freaky killer like you?" Kaage mocked.

"I...I didn't mean...to," Kasumi stammered out, tears appearing in her eyes.

"Doesn't mean you didn't do it? You murdered your parents. You're no better than me," Kaage sneered.

"I...No, I am...You kill for no reason...I...it was an accident," Kasumi protested, trembling.

Kaage shrugged. "Whatever," he said. "I really don't care whether you killed them on accident or not. Doesn't matter to me at all. Now, are we going to have this duel or not?"

"I...I won't duel you," Kasumi said firmly.

Kaage chuckled. "What makes you think you have a choice? Your precious brother Raiden didn't have a choice," he said, fingering the crystals that hung around his neck, though Kasumi noticed only eight were light up, the same number that had been lit up after Kyle fell.

"Raiden? What happened to him?" she demanded, glaring at Kaage.

Kaage's face twisted into a scowl. "The bastard beat me," he growled.

Kasumi frowned, confused. "Then how are you still here? And why aren't those souls released?" she asked.

"Because it wasn't a Shadow Duel," Kaage said dismissively, still looking furious. "And it was his own fault for being too trusting. Hn, I said I would release all the souls I took if he beat me—didn't really think he would, mind you—but I never had any intention of doing that."

"Where is my brother?" Kasumi demanded.

"Probably in the morgue by now," Kaage said.

"What?!"

"You heard me," the psychopath said with a smirk. "After all, when one is stabbed and doesn't get any medical attention, that's generally where they end up." _Though that pretty much meant that I had to find a new place to deal with this little bitch since the last place is a crime scene now. Good thing I got rid of any evidence I might have left behind, _he thought.

"You...You...stabbed him!" Kasumi cried, eyes wide with shock and her hands clenching into fists, nails digging into her palms.

"It was glorious," Kaage purred, eyes alit with sadistic pleasure. "Hearing him scream like that, all that blood..." He trailed off, still grinning,

"You twisted sadistic little bastard!" Kasumi screamed and lashed out, a burst of fire shot forward and slammed into Kaage, sending him flying into the same stack of crates he had flown into the last time Kasumi had lashed out like that.

Kaage, pushing the crates off him, smirked at Kasumi. "Oh so this is how it's going to be, eh? Fine," he said and lashed out. The Shadow Charm on his wrist glowed and shadowy tendrils shot out and crashed into Kasumi, sending her flying into the wall.

She gasped and fell to the ground, wincing as she lifted her head to glare at Kaage, flames coiled around her fists and her arms, though she didn't feel any pain. She didn't feel anything beyond her desire to avenge her brother's murder and take out this psychopath once and for all. The flames continued to coil around her arms and her eyes burned green fire as she got to her feet.

She unleashed another blast of fire that Kaage dodged by jumping off to the side, smirking at her as a box caught on fire nearby. "Is that the best you can do?" the psychopath mocked and slipped off into the shadows to avoid the next burst of flames that Kasumi tossed at him.

Kasumi whirled around, hands alit with flames as she tried to find Kaage. There were too many shadows in the place, with the exception of the fire that was burning nearby, though, and Kasumi knew that Kaage was using that to his advantage. It was obvious that Kaage knew how to do things with the powers given to him by that Shadow Charm that Kasumi didn't think he could do.

How, though?

Kasumi didn't know.

But then she didn't exactly stop to think about that matter for very long as she was suddenly sent flying into a pile of crates as a shadowy tendril struck out of a nearby corner and struck her in the chest and then another hit her in the face before she could get up, causing her to cry out in pain and surprise.

She couldn't see a thing!

She winced as she scrambled out of the pile of crates and lifted her head, struggling to see but, for some reason, she couldn't. It was as if that second blast of shadow had, somehow, blinded her.

"This is fun," Kaage's voice echoed all around her. "I would have rather dueled you, but I suppose this works just the same. And I have the advantage now. Good luck hitting me now that you can't see me."

_Son of a bitch,_ Kasumi thought furiously and turned around, straining her ears to try to hear anything that could indicate where Kaage was since she couldn't see a thing. Her arms were still warm as her fire powers activated. She supposed she could just set the whole place on fire but she didn't want to risk any nearby buildings, for one, and she didn't doubt that Kaage would find a way to make sure she couldn't leave—and she couldn't exactly _see_ where the door was anyway—for another.

She honestly didn't even know what she was doing. She was just acting on pure instinct.

Hopefully, it would be enough.

'_And_ _I am here to help you._' That soft feminine voice that had first spoken to Kasumi during her and Jaden's duel against Kagemaru echoed in her head. '_We can get out of this together._'

_W...Who are you?_ Kasumi thought, recalling that this presence—this alien but at the same time familiar presence—never did answer that question with an actual answer the last time she spoke.

'_A_ _friend, as I have already told you before. Behind you,_' the soft voice whispered and Kasumi whirled around before unleashing a blast of fire that caused a curse to sound, though it didn't sound again when Kasumi tossed another blast of fire in that direction.

_He's fast,_ she thought.

'_He_ _is using the Shadows to his advantage,_' the soft voice whispered.

Kasumi was about to reply when a tendril shot out and tripped her, sending her sprawling into the ground. She whirled around and lashed out with a wave of fire, guided by the presence who was speaking to her, that must have hit Kaage because there was a shout of pain followed by a crash.

Jumping to her feet, Kasumi gazed around. "You may have the advantage, Kaage, but that doesn't mean you have this fight won." She was trying to sound confident, since she was starting to get really worried. She could feel the heat—that wave of fire must have set something else on fire. She really hadn't been thinking about that when she lashed out—and she still couldn't see a thing.

"You are too confident, little bitch," Kaage snarled in response and Kasumi yelped as another tendril of shadow struck her and knocked her off her feet.

"So are you," Kasumi retorted. "Why don't you fight me without using these tricks of yours? Afraid to lose to a girl?"

"Ha, like I would lose to you, bitch," Kaage retorted.

On the command of the voice in the back of her head, Kasumi whirled around and lashed out with another burst of fire at the same time that a burst of shadow surged toward her. She was sent flying into the wall, but the crash that sounded at the other end of the building told her that she had hit her target as well.

_Am I in any danger? _She thought to the voice, since the voice was the only thing that could see anything.

'_Right now, no but try to control just how much power you put into the fire or else you will set the place on fire. We_ _can win this fight together however, Kasumi,_' the voice whispered in the back of Kasumi's head.

Kasumi nodded, though she did wonder how to not put too much power into the fire, eyes scanning the area as her hands lit up with flames. She knew that it probably wasn't a good idea to trust a voice in the back of her head but, right now, the presence attached to that voice was the only reason why she was able to use her powers as she has been. She had never really thought about using her powers before; she had only ever wanted her powers to go away, but now...

Now they were her only weapon against Kaage.

**. . .**

"What hit me?" Chazz groaned as he lifted his head off the floor of the Jaden's hotel room. The lights that had gone out only moments before were now back on and Chazz could see Atticus, Arina, and Jaden stirring nearby. But, looking around, Chazz noted that someone was missing.

_Where's Kasumi? _he thought as he got to his feet and helped Arina up.

"Where's Kasumi?" Atticus asked, using the bed to get to his feet and then stretch out a hand to help Jaden up.

Jaden was growling, golden eyes glaring up at the ceiling. "Kaage," he hissed.

"Where do you think he took her?" Arina asked.

"Possibly the same place he took Alexis," Atticus suggested.

"Honestly, that's doubtful. He went back there twice. I doubt he'll go back there a third time," Chazz said with a shake of his head.

"Then where could he have taken her?" Jaden asked.

"I don't know," Chazz said with a frown.

Jaden pressed his lips together and then reached for his duel disk and his deck.

"What do you plan on doing?" Arina asked.

"I'll find her," Jaden said coolly. "And I'll find Kaage. He's messed with my family and my friends long enough. This time, I'm taking the fight to him."

"Where will you look first, Slacker?" Chazz asked.

Jaden sighed and gazed up at the ceiling, trying to think of some way to find his sister. He was surprised that Kaage didn't tell him where he could find his sister though, like he did with Alexis and Kyle.

He led the way out of the room with Chazz, Arina and Atticus hurrying after him. They only just barely got into the empty lobby when Jaden's phone rang. Frowning, Jaden removed it from his pocket and answered it. "Hello?" he said, pausing near the entrance to the hotel.

"Jaden," his dad's voice sounded on the other end and Jaden frowned because his dad sounded very worried and a bad feeling went through him.

"What is it, Dad?" he asked.

There was a moment of silence, then: "Raiden's in the hospital, Jaden," Kaede said finally.

"What?!"

"What is it?" Atticus asked.

"No one knows exactly what happened," Kaede explained. "They said that they received a 911 call from some woman who found Raiden, though the woman wasn't there when they showed up. He was badly wounded, Jaden. The doctors are doing all they can to help him though, Jaden. I'll let you know if there's any change in his condition."

"All right, Dad, Jaden said and hung up after that.

_Raiden was badly hurt? Oh, I really, really hope that the doctors will be able to help him. I can't lose him,_ he thought. Raiden was always there for Jaden. He was the one who comforted Jaden whenever he had nightmares; he was the one who basically took care of Jaden whenever their parents weren't home; he was the one who Jaden just got back only a few months before.

He couldn't lose his brother again.

"Jaden? What's going on?" Arina asked.

Jaden glanced at his friends and his foster brother. "Raiden's in the hospital," he said quietly. "Dad says he was badly hurt but the doctors are doing all that they can to help him. I just gotta hope everything they do will work."

Arina gasped and Atticus's eyes went wide while Chazz narrowed his eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Arina whispered. "What...What happened?"

"They don't know," he admitted, a few tears fell from his eyes and he hastily wiped them away. "They say that they received a 911 call from some woman who found Raiden and that he was badly wounded when the paramedics finally showed up."

"Woman who found Raiden?"

"She wasn't there when they showed up, so I don't know," Jaden said, feeling rather numb with the knowledge that his brother was badly hurt. A part of him wanted to break down into tears while another part wanted to find the bastard who did this to Raiden and rip his head off, since he was sure Kaage Naka had something to do with it. After all, the man was a psychopath who had stabbed someone Jaden cared about before.

"Who would do that to Raiden, though?" Atticus said with a confused frown.

Chazz scoffed and folded his arms across his chest. "Can you really not think of anyone?" he asked.

"Kaage," Jaden growled, the urge to find the bastard and rip his head off was getting stronger. "For him to stoop this low to get revenge on me..." He trailed off. _He's dead the next time I see him. I'll kill him for sure this time,_ he thought.

'_You_ _don't know that it was Kaage, though,_' Yubel pointed out, sounding very worried.

Haou scoffed. '_Who_ _else could it have been?_' he retorted.

"Speaking of Kaage," Arina said quietly, "what about Kasumi?"

"You don't think...would he really...?" Atticus trailed off.

"If that bastard touches a single hair on my sister's head..." Jaden trailed off furiously before he turned and stormed out of the hotel, determined to find Kaage. If he harmed Kasumi, and was responsible for what happened to Raiden—though Jaden didn't doubt that he was—then Jaden would kill him; that was all there was to it.

And no one, not Yubel, not his friends, no one would stand in his way.

Now, if only he could figure out where Kaage had taken her...

**. . .**

'_She's_ _pretty good,_' Dark Shadow mused as Kaage pushed himself away from the wall that he had been thrown into because of that stream of fire from the little bitch. He, not bothering on responding to his ally's words, slipped into the shadows and used them to quietly circle Kasumi as the blue-black haired looked around for him, though she was still blinded, hands glowing with flames.

_I need to catch her off guard,_ he thought.

'_What_ _exactly do you plan on doing?_' Dark Shadow wondered aloud. '_Kill her like you did Raiden Yuki?_'

_Hn, I did just want her soul, but her life would work just as well. It did with Raiden Yuki, it will do with her,_ Kaage thought with a sadistic smirk and, tapping into the powers the Shadow Charm gave him—and the powers that Dark Shadow was lending him—he attacked once again, sending Kasumi flying. She crashed into the ground, rolling to a stop before pushing herself to her hands and knees, gasping, her blue-black hair framing her sweat-covered face.

_She's tiring,_ Kaage mused, watching as Kasumi pushed herself to her feet and unleash another wave of flames that caught Kaage—he wouldn't have been able to dodge that wave if he wanted to—sending him skidding backwards.

"Hn, what was that? That was pathetic," Kaage taunted.

"You're not doing much better," Kasumi retorted.

"Oh? You want me to do better? All right then. I'll start taking things more seriously now," Kaage said with a smirk and chuckled at the shocked look on Kasumi's face. _She actually thought I was being serious? Ha, I've been toying with her this entire time,_ he thought, reaching for his deck and searching for any cards that he could use against her. The Shadow Charm made it so that he could conjure up Shadow Duels, but it also allowed him to use Dark Shadow's powers, and Dark Shadow had the ability to bring monsters, their attacks, and card effects to life.

He fingered one of the cards he just drew and his Shadow Charm glowed. "Let's see how you handle this," he said with a laugh as the card glowed along with the Shadow Charm. "Oh this is definitely more fun than an actual duel."

Meanwhile, in another part of the building, Kasumi was frowning at the laugh that echoed around her. _He hasn't been taking this fight seriously and now he's laughing? What is he planning? _She thought as she got to her feet.

'_Dodge!_' the voice shouted and Kasumi quickly jumped out of the way; she wondered what exactly it was that Kaage was doing.

She found out when what felt like actual lightning struck her before she could dodge out of the way, knocking her off her feet.

Gasping—_damn, that hurt as much as that attack from Hamon_—Kasumi pushed herself to her feet. "How did you do that?" she demanded, pain filling her voice.

"I told you, I'm taking things seriously now," Kaage said.

Kasumi growled. That didn't answer her question and she knew Kaage knew that. She released another blast of flames.

'_Dodge!_' the voice hissed.

Kasumi quickly duck out of the way as the flames were tossed right back at her, though it still hit her arm, causing her to cry out in pain as the flames burned her skin. Just because she could use flames didn't mean that they didn't hurt her; it was only when she was using them that they didn't hurt her.

She didn't know why that was, though.

'_It's_ _because you haven't learned enough to have complete control over your abilities,_' the soft voice said in the back of Kasumi's mind.

"You're using the cards in your deck," Kasumi realized. "Sounds like you're cheating, to me."

"Hn, call it what you will. I'm simply using what I have at my disposal to my advantage," Kaage said with a snicker.

Kasumi growled. _Now what am I supposed to do? _she thought.

"Face it, bitch. You're as good as dead." Kaage laughed.

Kasumi glared. "I'm not out of this fight yet," she snapped. "And I will avenge what you did to my brother!"

"You can try," Kaage retorted.

Kasumi bit her lip. She really didn't know what she could do. She had the power to conjure up and control fire at her disposal, but Kaage seemed to have the power of his entire deck at his; he didn't summon any monsters, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't.

Not only that but she was still blinded and couldn't see where Kaage was. It was only the voice that was keeping her from either landing any hits or dodging Kaage's attacks.

_What am I supposed to do?_ she thought worriedly as she dodged around another burst of purple lightning that nearly struck her. She ducked behind a pile of crates and held out her hands, following the voice's instruction and conjuring up a shield of flames that encircled her.

Then she relaxed against the crates, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. She was running out of energy quickly and she didn't know how much longer she would be able to keep dodging Kaage's attacks. The shield should keep her safe but she still couldn't see and that was a large disadvantage.

"You learned a new trick, I see," Kaage growled. "But I can see that you're tiring. Will you honestly be able to keep this up?"

Kaage was right, unfortunately. While Kasumi had managed to keep herself protected with the fire shield, she was starting to get tired and she was pretty sure that if she got too tired then the shield would falter.

"I just have to wait for you to lose your energy and the shield to drop. You don't have much time left, I see," Kaage said and snickered.

Kasumi glowered but the psychopathic bastard was right. She was losing a lot of energy and, already, portions of the shield were giving out, plunging areas of the warehouse back into shadows.

She gritted her teeth and released the shield. She needed to reserve as much of her energy as possible if she was to stand a chance of lasting a bit longer against Kaage.

"So, I was right," Kaage said with a smirk. "But it's time I ended this."

Kasumi narrowed her eyes. Kaage sounded tired as well_. He wants to end this because he's losing energy, too,_ she realized. _If I could take advantage of that..._ She conjured up some more fire around her hands and straining to hear Kaage since she was sure he had moved once the shield was gone and he could.

"Ah, ah, ah," Kaage said and Kasumi gasped as shadowy tendrils suddenly wrapped around her legs, throwing her to the floor. She pushed herself up, struggling to free herself from the tendril's grasps but they were like ropes, keeping her pinned. Tendrils wrapped around her arms, yanking her to her knees and then more tendrils wrapped around her waist, keeping her pinned in the middle of the floor.

"That's much better," Kaage purred.

Kasumi glared, struggling to free herself.

"Don't bother fighting. You're too weakened to have a hope of freeing yourself," Kaage said shortly. "Now then, I do so wonder where your precious little monster of a brother is. Then again, he probably doesn't even know where we are. Perhaps I shall be..._nice_ and let him know where we are." It was clear that he didn't mean to be 'nice' and likely just wanted to get Jaden to show up so that he could hurt him.

"If you hurt Jaden in any way..." Kasumi growled.

Kaage laughed. "You are in no position to be making threats, little girl," he said.

Kasumi was panting now as she watched Kaage pull out Alexis's phone and send a quick message to Jaden. She was exhausted. She had used so much of her energy just trying to keep herself alive against Kaage and trying to take him out at the same time, and now she didn't have enough strength to fight back again.

**. . .**

Jaden and his friends and family were walking out of the hotel when Jaden's phone vibrated. Narrowing his eyes and pulling it out before reading the texts, which was from Alexis's phone. The messages, itself, was from Kaage and was directions along with a message saying that Jaden had best hurry.

[..._unless you want your sister to die._]

Scowling, Jaden stuffed the phone away. "Let's go," he said.

"Where is he?" Chazz asked, running after Jaden.

"He sent me some directions," Jaden said, holding out the phone to Chazz, since he knew he wasn't that great at following directions—and could easily get them all lost—he decided to just let Chazz guide them there.

Which was probably the best thing to do for Chazz was able to easily follow the instructions to find the building. It was an abandoned building near the very edge of the city—they had to take a taxi part way there and then walked the rest of the way—and Jaden could see flames in the windows.

He moved forward, pushing open the door and gazed into the abandoned building. He spotted Kasumi struggling to break free from shadowy chains that kept her pinned to the ground. "Kas!" he shouted.

Kasumi's head lifted up. "Jaden?" she said, sounding as tired as she looked. Kaage was still keeping her blinded and the shadowy tendrils seemed to be preventing her from regaining any energy while she rested.

Jaden, with Chazz, Arina, and Atticus right behind him, started toward Kasumi.

"Oh, lookie, the little monster has shown up," Kaage's voice echoed around them.

"Kaage!" Jaden shouted. "Let Kas go!"

Kaage laughed and then appeared right behind Kasumi, smirking. "And why would I do that, little monster?" he purred.

"This fight is between us. Stop using others to get at me," Jaden snapped.

"It's more fun that way," Kaage said, running a hand through Kasumi's hair and Jaden growled as Kasumi shivered. "But I think that it's time I got to my little endgame. You seem tired of this game, little monster."

"Let Kas go," Jaden said again.

"Oh, of course, but first, I think I'll do to her what I did to your precious brother," Kaage purred and, grabbing Kasumi's hair, he yanked her to her feet and then, with a knife that no one noticed he had in his hand appeared, he stabbed her in her abdomen.

"Kas!" Jaden screamed as Kaage yanked the knife out of Kasumi's abdomen and tossed the bleeding girl to the ground, releasing her from her shadowy restraints as she did so.

"You're dead! You are fucking dead, you bastard!" Jaden screamed, eyes flaring with golden rage and his powers raging out around him, not that he cared. All he cared about was murdering the bastard in front of him, the bastard who just admitted to being the one to put Raiden in the hospital and the one who just stabbed Kasumi right in front of him.

He didn't even realize he had moved. The next thing he knew, he had Kaage pinned to the ground, the knife that Kaage had used on Kasumi pressed against his throat. Kaage just smirked up at him, eyes alit with sadistic insanity. "Well, little monster? You said you're going to kill me. Do it, though you won't be able to get your precious girlfriend or your friend Kyle back if you do."

Jaden growled, eyes flaring and the urge to kill Kaage was growing stronger. He wanted nothing more than to sink the blade into Kaage's throat, but Kaage's words echoed in his head. He gritted his teeth, fury washing over him. He wanted to kill the bastard. He had the bastard who had caused him grief ever since he first took Alexis from him, but...

Would killing him really prevent him from ever getting Alexis's and Kyle's souls back? Or the souls of those six other innocent people?

Kaage laughed. "You can't do it," he purred. "A killer though you are, you can't kill me and I know exactly why. Because you know you will never get your girlfriend or your friend back if you do. Such a pity, really, that you care about"—he sneered out those words—"your pathetic girlfriend and friend that you can't kill the one who was responsible for what happened to them, despite threatening to do exactly that."

Jaden gritted his teeth, his hand shook and that was all the distraction Kaage needed. With one swift movement, not only did Kaage disarm Jaden but he reversed their positions and now Jaden was the one pinned beneath the psychopath with a knife pressed against his throat.

Jaden glared up at the psychopath while Haou snarled in fury in the back of Jaden's head. '_You should have killed him while you had the chance,_' Haou raged.

"So what now, Kaage? You going to kill me?" Jaden demanded.

Kaage leaned forward so that his face was mere centimeters from Jaden. "I want you to suffer," he whispered. "Killing you would be a mercy and I am not planning on being merciful towards you. I want your soul and I plan on taking it from you, ripping it from your body and then killing you. Here's the deal, little monster. You and I are going to have one last duel and when I win, I will claim your soul and your life. The perfect little end to my perfect little game. If you don't agree, I'll simply start killing everyone else around you, though I won't have to worry about killing your little bitch of a sister since she's dying anyway. I'll start with your foster brother and then your father and go from there. Eventually, you will be alone and you will wish that you were dead, or that you had agreed to play by my terms."

Jaden glared but he had no other choice but to agree since, after seeing what he did to Kasumi and what he heard he did to Raiden, he knew that the bastard would do it. "Fine, I'll play by your terms," he growled.

Kaage smirked at him and remove the knife from Jaden's throat. "Good. Then why don't we have a change of scenery?" he murmured, eyes alit with satisfaction. He stood up and then the Shadow Charm around his wrist glowed.

Transporting through the shadows wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, especially not when someone was as badly injured as Kasumi. Chazz, Arina and Atticus had rushed to Kasumi's side right after Jaden had launched himself at Kaage. They were doing their best to stop the bleeding but it didn't seem to be working out so well. In fact, they honestly had no idea how long Kasumi could survive and, of course, Kaage didn't care. However, they all had been knocked unconscious when Kaage transported them using his Shadow Charm.

When Jaden regained consciousness, he realized that he and Kaage had ended up on opposite ends of some arena whereas Chazz, Arina and Atticus, with a bleeding Kasumi between them, were crouched on the platform off to the side.

Kaage smirked at him from the opposite end of the arena. "This is where our endgame shall take place, little monster," he said, duel disk and deck in place on his arm. "We're near the outskirts of Honolulu. I was looking for a spot that was out of the way in which I could destroy you without the police finding out and when I found some allies willing to help, they found this place and paid for this arena to be built."

Jaden scoffed as he got to his feet, noticing that there was a metal cuff around his ankle. "Who'd be stupid enough to work with a psychopath?" he sneered, worriedly flicking his eyes toward Kasumi.

"Why, people who are so focused on world domination that they failed to notice when their new 'ally' was lying through his teeth. I believe you know them, they are your new foster brother's real brothers after all," Kaage said.

Jaden's eyes narrowed. "Slade and Jagger Princeton," he said.

"Those lousy scrubs?" Chazz grumbled. "What the hell where they thinking?"

"Bravo, you figured it out," Kaage said mockingly, clapping his hands in mock-applause and ignoring Chazz.

Jaden scowled. "You know what...I don't care why we're in this predicament or whatever. Let's just get to the duel already," he snapped impatiently. His sister's life was hanging on the line.

Kaage snickered. "But you haven't let me explain what will happen when you lose," he purred. He then pointed upward, ignoring the impatient glare that Jaden gave him, and he followed the psychopath's gesture with his eyes. He saw an anchor hanging there with a box carrying the hook on which was the anchor above it. "You see that anchor. Our chains are connected to it and then there's that box next to your feet," he said, pointing and Jaden turned to see a box next to his shackled ankle with what appeared to be a Life Point counter on it.

"It's simple, little monster. We duel, in a Shadow Game of course, and when one of our Life Point's hit zero, the winner's box will open revealing a key. You will then have thirty seconds to unlock your chains before the anchor drops. I'm pretty sure you can figure out what happens when the anchor drops."

"I already told you I don't care. Let's get this duel over with," Jaden snapped, duel disk whirring to life and inserting his deck. _So that I can get Kasumi to the hospital quickly. If I have to tap into my powers in order to do that then I will. Kas, please hang on. I'll try to make this as quick a duel as I possibly can,_ he thought.

"Then let's begin," Kaage asked, holding out his duel disk as it whirred to life.

Jaden activated his own duel disk and inserted his deck. "I will make you regret everything you've done and I don't plan on losing, Kaage," he said.

"And I don't plan on letting you win," Kaage retorted.

"Let's duel."

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, we have reached the climax and this story is now one chapter shorter than it was previously. Will Kasumi survive? Who will win between Kaage and Jaden?**

**Bakura: you know the answer to all of those questions**

**Blaze: I know! (Beams) This chapter was the hardest to rewrite after some very much appreciated constructive criticism from my beta-reader but, once I decided to just cut the story short by one chapter, it was much easier**

**Bakura: so only two chapters left instead of three?**

**Blaze: yup. The next chapter is the long-awaited final duel between Kaage and Jaden and the following chapter is where I tie up some loose ends (like an epilogue)**

**Bakura: and...?**

**Blaze: and I am undecided whether I shall post the first chapter of **_**White Radiance**_** on the same day that I post the last chapter of **_**Chained**_** or just wait a week and post it during the week that I would have originally posted the last chapter of **_**Chained**_**. What do you guys think? Post the first chapter of **_**White Radiance **_**the same day I post the last chapter of **_**Chained**_**? Or post the first chapter of **_**White Radiance **_**a week after I finish posting **_**Chained**_**? Let me know.**

**Yuya: okay then**

**Yuto: what else do you have to say?**

**Blaze: for this story, nothing, for my **_**Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V **_**story, I'm almost done with chapter two and I've decided to call it **_**Allegiance.**_** It does follow a rather unique OC of mine but also still follows the canon storyline (with some twists along the way because of my OCs presence) so if anyone wants to check it out when I post it, I can PM them when I have the first chapter up.**

**Yugo: and that has nothing whatsoever to do with this story**

**Blaze: I already said that, 'Fusion'**

**Yugo: (glares at Blaze) seriously?! I thought you liked me!**

**Blaze: I like Yami Bakura too but I still call him Fluffy at times**

**Bakura: (mutters) better than Florence**

**Yugo: (scowls)**

**Yuya: (raises eyebrow) okay then**

**Blaze: well, I'm off to go watch the new episode of **_**ARC-V.**_** I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


	17. Chained

**Wow. I can't believe I'm only one chapter away from finishing this story!**

**And I got over 200 reviews on it right now. HELL YEAH!**

**Thank you to **_**DarkZorua100, Guest, dragonrider90, SuperNeos2, decode9, Supreme Elemental Hero, Sorcerer of the Stories, a1993, weather741, iloveyugiohGX93, EndlessNight025, sophhascoconuts, Lightclaw's Shadow**_** and **_**Kamen Rider Dragon Knight**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**And a shout out to **_**dragonrider90 **_**who was my 200****th**** reviewer.**

**Also, a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025**_** for being an awesome beta-reader. This chapter would not have turned out like it did were it not for her suggestions so thank you, Misha!**

**And I know that Fabled Valkyrus is a Synchro monster but Misha and I have changed it to a Ritual monster for the purposes of this story; the changed stats are posted at the end of the chapter.**

**I hope you enjoy chapter 17 and reviews, as always, are ****much appreciated.**

**17**

**Chained**

The air between Kaage Naka and Jaden Yuki was extremely tense. Kaage was watching Jaden with a sadistically satisfied as well as confident look on his face whereas Jaden had a mixture of fury, hatred and worry mingling in his eyes. The source of his worry was the blue-black haired girl who was lying unconscious between Chazz, Arina and Atticus, all of who were attempting to stop the bleeding from the vicious wound in the girl's abdomen. They were covered in blood and Chazz was using his own shirt to attempt to, at least, slow down the bleeding.

Somehow, the girl was still alive, though Chazz wasn't entirely sure how. She was breathing, but her it was rather slow and she was losing blood quickly. Chazz knew that her chances of survival were slimming by the second but he kept those thoughts to himself. He could only hope that Jaden could end the duel as quickly as possible.

Or, perhaps, he, Arina and Atticus could get Kasumi to the hospital while Kaage was focused on his duel.

It was an idea. The only problem was that Chazz had no idea where he and the others had ended up. Kaage said they were on the outskirts of Honolulu and they were in a cove with the only way to get back to the top of the bluff was using a very rocky path. And getting up there with an unconscious, bleeding Kasumi would take a lot of time they didn't have.

Chazz gritted his teeth as he tried to think about what he could do to help ease Jaden's mind so that he could focus on winning against Kaage, and not on the fact that the longer the duel lasts, the more likely Kasumi wouldn't survive.

Calling the police might be the best thing to do. At the very least, they might have a way to get Kasumi to the hospital without making her injury worse, a helicopter or something. But, as Chazz pulled out his phone, he realized he didn't have any service. He glanced at Atticus, who must have thought the same thing because he was looking at his own phone.

"No service. I might be able to call from the top of the bluff and get help," Atticus suggested.

"Arina and I can stay here and give our support and try to, at least, slow the bleeding as best we can," Chazz said.

Atticus nodded.

"Oh you three aren't going anywhere," Kaage said with a smirk; the Shadow Charm around his wrist glowed and a wall of dark purple-black appeared in front of them. Atticus tried to go past it but found that it acted like an actual wall; there was no way to get past it.

Chazz growled, glaring at Kaage who simply smirked at him and then returned his attention to Jaden. "Shall we continue, little monster?"

Jaden glared at Kaage and briefly glanced at Kasumi.

"We'll do what we can for Kasumi, Jaden. Focus on your duel," Atticus called.

Jaden bit his lip but nodded and then transferred his gaze to Kaage. "Let's get this over with," he said as he and Kaage drew their opening hands.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Kaage: 8000**

"I'll start this duel off," Kaage said, drawing his sixth card. "And I start by activating The Gates of Dark World, which means all Fiend-type monsters gain 300 Attack and Defense," A moment later, a large monstrous looking gate rose from the ground behind Kaage. "And then I summon Fabled Ashenveil in Attack Mode."

A large pale-purple skinned fiend with a pale-purple tail and black bat-wings dressed in black appeared on the field (A: 1600-1900/D: 1200-1500).

"Fabled?" Jaden repeated, startled. _When did he start using Fabled monsters? _he thought.

"And then I will place this card facedown and end my turn. Your move, little monster," Kaage said coolly as a facedown card appeared at his feet. "And best make it quick. Don't want your precious little sister to bleed out, do you?"

Jaden scowled as he drew a card. "That was because of you," he spat, glancing at the card in his hand.

"Well, you took away my only family and ruined my damn life, so I'm simply returning the favor," Kaage snapped back. "Now make your move, little monster."

Jaden glanced at his hand, inwardly trying not to think about Kaage's words, since they were true. He needed to win this duel as quickly as possible. Kasumi's life was hanging by a thread at the moment, after all.

"I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in Attack Mode," Jaden said and his blue-armored hero appeared on the field with a white cape around his shoulders (A: 800/D: 1200). "And since Bubbleman was summoned when I have no other cards on the field, I can draw two cards." He did so before adding, "And then I equip Bubbleman with Bubble Blaster, which increases his Attack by 800." Bubbleman was suddenly wielding a blaster that he pointed at Kaage (A: 800-1600).

"And I also activate Polymerization and fuse Elemental Heroes Avian and Ocean to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero in Attack Mode," Jaden added.

A green feathered hero and a blue hero with a shark's fin on his head appeared before fusing together. In their place was a tall white armored warrior with a white cape appeared on the field (A: 2500-3000/D: 2000).

"And Absolute Zero gains 500 Attack for every Water monster on the field."

"Now,"—Jaden pointed at Fabled Ashenveil—"Absolute Zero, take out Fabled Ashenveil."

Absolute Zero unleashed a blast of ice that surged across the field toward the Fabled monster.

"I activate Fabled Ashenveil's effect. By sending one card in my hand to the Graveyard, Ashenveil gains 600 Attack during damage calculation only," Kaage said, discarding a card (Ashenveil 1900-2500) and then Ashenveil was enveloped by a blast of ice before he shattered into icy pieces.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Kaage: 7500**

"Fine then, Bubbleman, attack Kaage directly," Jaden ordered and Bubbleman shot forward.

"I activate my facedown Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Bubble Blaster," Kaage said, revealing his facedown.

A mini cyclone spun across the field and destroyed the blaster that had been in Bubbleman's hand but Bubbleman's attack still connected with Kaage.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Kaage: 6700**

"And then I'll place this facedown and end my turn," Jaden added, inserting the card into his duel disk and a facedown appeared at his feet.

Kaage wordlessly drew a card. "So you got in a few lucky shots, little monster, but it won't last long. I will avenge what you did to my brother and my friends one way or another. I'll start by activating The Gates of Dark World's effect and banish Scarr, Scout of Dark World from my Graveyard to discard Fabled Lurrie from my hand to draw one card." He did so and then added, "And because Fabled Lurrie was discarded to the Graveyard, it is Special Summoned to my field."

Rising out of the ground was a small purple creature with large black bat wings, an orange mask with green eyes and a wide sharp-toothed grin on its face (A: 200-500/D: 400-700).

_Another Fabled monster?_ Jaden pressed his lips together as he observed the new monster. He really hadn't expected Kaage to use other monsters besides Dark World, but he had always been the adaptable sort of duelist.

"And next, I tribute Fabled Lurrie in order to summon Fabled Dianaira in Attack Mode," Kaagea added and the little creature vanished in a cloud of darkness. Out of the cloud stepped a muscular monster with purplish-pink skin, black-and-gray armor with golden accents and a black helmet with a golden winged mask over its eyes and large black wings (A: 2800-3100/D: 100-400).

"And I can summon Dianaira with only one tribute so long as the tribute is a Fabled monster," Kaage added. "Now, Dianaira, wipe that pathetic Warrior off the little monster's field. Attack!"

"Hold it right there," Jaden called as the muscular Fabled monster went to attack. "I activate my facedown card, Bubble Shuffle. This allows me to switch Bubbleman and Fabled Dianaira to Defense Mode and then Tribute Bubbleman in order to Special Summon an Elemental Hero from my hand, like my Bladedge."

Bubbleman and Dianaira knelt down before Bubbleman vanished and was replaced by a golden armored warrior (A: 2600/D: 1800) (Absolute Zero A: 3000-2500).

"Fine then, I place two cards facedown and end my turn," Kaage added and two facedowns appeared at his feet.

"Not a bad counter," Chazz mused before glancing down at Kasumi, who was still unconscious, though the flow of blood wasn't quite as fast as it had been beforehand. Chazz wondered at that; the duel had been going on for several minutes but, somehow, Kasumi was still alive.

"If only we could get past this then we could get help for Kasumi," Atticus said, studying the wall of shadow in front of them that was preventing them from leaving the arena. "How is she?"

"The wound's still bleeding but she's still alive, barely. The Slacker's gonna have to hurry, though," Chazz said, glancing down at the pale Lightsworn duelist, who was stubbornly clinging on to life.

"Yeah, who knows how much longer Kasumi has?" Arina said quietly.

Chazz returned his attention to the duel, watching as Jaden drew a card and his eyes flickered toward them.

Kaage noticed as well and smirked. "How does it feel, little monster?" he sneered. "How does it feel to know that your precious sister is dying on you? Know that it was all your fault? That you're the reason why she is going to be dead soon, just like your precious brother?"

"Shut up, you bastard," Chazz snapped. "We all know that what happened to Raiden and Kasumi was not Jaden's fault at all, it was yours."

Kaage scoffed. "What happened to my brother was all his fault. He murdered my brother so I murdered his and his precious sister as well. An eye for an eye," he retorted and then glanced at Jaden. "So, this is all his fault. His precious girlfriend and his friend are lying soulless in the hospital, his brother is dead and his sister is dying, and it's all his fault."

Jaden cringed at that as his thoughts went to his brother and his girlfriend and friend and—he briefly looked toward his friends—his sister Kasumi. They had all gotten hurt because of him, because Kaage was going after him because he had killed Kaage's brother and friends.

'_You know it's not your fault, Jaden,_' Yubel said firmly. '_It_ _was Haou's, not yours._'

Jaden had to push that self-loathing away because, despite Yubel's assurances, he still did blame himself for everything that had happened. He shook his head; he couldn't focus on that right now, he had to focus on the duel.

He didn't have much time left.

"It's my turn," Jaden said, glancing at the card he just drew and then pointing at Fabled Dianaira. "Bladedge attacks Fabled Dianaira, and when he attacks a monster in Defense Mode, he deals piercing damage."

Bladedge darted forward and cut through Dianaira's body with his blade, destroying him.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Kaage: 4500**

Kaage, shielding himself from the shower of golden pixels, scowled. "I reveal my facedown," he spat and his facedown flipped up. "Fiend Griefing. This allows me to target Elemental Hero Avian in your Graveyard and shuffle it back into your deck and then I can send one Fiend-type monster from my Deck to the Graveyard and I choose Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World."

After Avian was shuffled back into Jaden's deck, Kaage retrieved the card from his deck and placed it in his Graveyard slot.

"I still have one more monster to attack, though," Jaden said, gesturing to Absolute Zero. "Absolute Zero, attack that bastard directly."

Absolute Zero nodded and then dashed forward, ready to attack.

"I activate my other facedown, Gateway to Dark World and use it to Special Summon Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World from my Graveyard in Attack Mode," Kaage said, revealing his second facedown and his large monstrous dark-gray and black dragon appeared with a roar (A: 2700-3000/D: 1800-2100).

_Damn!_ Jaden thought, calling off Absolute Zero's attack. "I end my turn with that," he said.

Kaage was not happy, to say the least. He had lost almost half of his Life Points in the span of only a few turns. I need to turn this duel around, he thought, reaching for his deck to draw a card.

'_Hmph, it seems to me that you're having quite a bit of trouble defeating Jaden Yuki. Psychologically, you're getting under his skin but, through this duel, it doesn't appear as though you're having much luck beating him,_' Dark Shadow said, sounding infinitely amused. '_Perhaps_ _I should take over..._'

_No! I can and will defeat the little monster on my own, _Kaage snarled silently.

Dark Shadow laughed. '_You_ _aren't having any luck in that department, are you? I've let you have your fun since this whole charade began. Now it's time for me to have my fun and make sure Jaden Yuki loses,_' he sneered.

"It's your move, bastard," Jaden said from across the arena.

"Oh, I know that, little monster. Hn, I rather like that nickname my current host gave you," Kaage said, his voice now layered by that of another voice and Jaden frowned for he was sure he recognized the voice that was speaking with Kaage's. He could tell that someone else was in control at the moment.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Don't recognize me, little Judai?" the voice said mockingly.

Jaden's eyes widened at the nickname and his mind flashed back to the duel he had with his brother back when he had been a Shadow Rider, and who had been in control of his brother at the time. "Dark Shadow?" he repeated, stunned.

"Him? I thought he vanished when you beat Raiden back when he was a Shadow Rider," Chazz exclaimed.

"Hmph, as if one loss can really destroy me," Dark Shadow laughed through Kaage's lips. "I simply sought another host to house me and my power and Kaage Naka was more than willing to let me help him on his quest for vengeance. He had his fun, now it's time for me to finish this up and make you rue the day you ever defeated me. When you lose and die, both Kaage Naka and I will have our desire for vengeance satisfied. It's my turn." He drew a card and glanced at it before holding it out. "I play Card of Sanctity. Now we each draw until we're holding six cards in our hands."

Jaden narrowed his eyes as he drew four cards. _If I'm going against Dark Shadow then winning this duel is going to be harder since I don't know enough about Dark Shadow to know just what he will do,_ he thought.

On the arena side, Chazz was thinking along the same lines. _None of us know anything about Dark Shadow, other than he is an entity who can possess others, so predicting his moves is going to be a bit difficult. Good luck, Slacker, you're gonna need it. _He returned his attention to Kasumi before frowning for she seemed to be losing what little color she had left on her face.

He reached over and felt for her pulse, noticing that it was much slower than it had been when he checked it last and blood was still gushing out of the wound in her abdomen. _How is she still alive?_ he wondered silently.

"She doesn't have much time left," Atticus murmured.

Arina bit her lip and then smoothed Kasumi's hair out of her face. "Hold on, Kasumi," she said quietly, though it sounded like she was trying hard not to cry. Chazz awkwardly wrapped an arm around Arina's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her and she leaned against him, closing her eyes as a few tears fell from them.

Chazz turned back to the duel as the Dark Shadow-possessed Kaage went on with his turn.

"And next I activate Lightning Vortex and discard one card to destroy all face-up monsters on your field," he said and, after he discarded a card, various strikes of lightning shot from the sky above, obliterating all of Jaden's monsters.

"Absolute Zero's effect activates, since it left the field, all monsters that you control are destroyed," Jaden said as ice surged across the field and froze Grapha, causing the dragon lord to roar as it was frozen solid before it shattered into small crystals of ice.

"A minor inconvenience," Dark Shadow said dismissively. "I summon Zure, Knight of Dark World, though he won't be here long." The knight emerged on the field (A: 1800-2100/D: 1500-1800). "Since I activate Grapha's effect from my Graveyard and return Zure to my hand to Special Summon him back to the field in Attack Mode."

He retrieved the card from his duel disk and then returned the other card from his Graveyard to the field. The monstrous dark gray and black dragon lord returned to the field with a roar (A: 2700-3000/D: 1800-2100).

"And next, I activate the Ritual Spell, Roar of the Demon Gods," Dark Shadow added, holding up the card in his hand. It depicted a masked demonic being rising out of the shadows. "I tribute Fabled Urustos and Zure, Knight of Dark World from my hand in order to Ritual Summon Fabled Valkyrus (1) from my hand in Attack Mode."

A large demonic monster with large black demonic wings and wearing black, gold and red armor with a mask on its face stepped onto the field (A: 2900-3200/D: 1700-2000).

Jaden's eyes widened. _Oh boy, this is going to hurt, _he thought.

"Grapha, attack the little monster directly," Dark Shadow commanded and the dragon lord roared before lashing out with a giant clawed paw that crashed into Jaden, causing him to scream in pain as he was knocked off his feet.

**Jaden: 5000**

**Dark Shadow/Kaage: 4500**

"And that's not it. Fabled Valkyrus, attack as well," Dark Shadow ordered and the large Fabled monster flew forward and slammed a punch into Jaden almost as soon as he got to his feet, knocking the breath out of him and sending him back to the ground. His body ached from both direct attacks.

**Jaden: 1800**

**Dark Shadow/Kaage: 4500**

"Jaden!" Atticus called.

"He just knocked out more than three fourths of Jaden's Life Points in one turn," Arina whispered, concerned.

"I end my turn with that. Well, are you just going to lay there, little monster?" Dark Shadow asked as Jaden struggled to get back to his feet. "I hope not. It wouldn't be quite as fun killing you if you just gave up."

"I'm not...defeated yet," Jaden snapped, pushing himself to his knees, breathing heavily as his body screamed in protest. "I've still...got Life Points left."

"Then get on with your turn," Dark Shadow said.

Jaden managed to get to his feet. "My turn, I draw," he said and drew a card. He glanced at it and then at his hand. _Not much I can do,_ he thought. "I activate Dark Fusion and use it to fuse Elemental Heroes Burstinatrix and Clayman in my hand in order to Fusion Summon Evil Hero Infernal Sniper in Defense Mode."

Burstinatrix and Clayman appeared before fusing together to create a large fiend-warrior in dark-red armor with a two prong blaster trained on Dark Shadow (A: 2000-2300/D: 2500-2800).

"At least he has a monster with a pretty high Defense as well as a good effect," Atticus said thoughtfully and then looked down at Kasumi. "Huh, looks like the bleeding's stopped...?"

Arina and Chazz looked down as well and, like Atticus had said, it didn't look as though the wound was bleeding anymore. Chazz checked Kasumi's pulse to find that it was still there, albeit weaker than before. "She's still alive. I don't know how she's still alive, but she is," he said.

"She must be really stubborn," Atticus said thoughtfully.

"Maybe."

"And next I activate Infernal Sniper's effect, inflicting 1000 points of damage to you, Kaage, Dark Shadow, whatever the hell you want to be called," Jaden said and Infernal Sniper fired off a blast of blue energy that slammed into Dark Shadow, sending him skidding back a bit.

"And then I summon Wroughtweiler in Defense Mode, place one card facedown and end my turn," Jaden added and his black metal dog appeared on the field before sitting down (A: 800/D: 1200).

"That's it? Fine. I draw," Dark Shadow said, drawing a card and glancing at it. "I activate The Gates of Dark World's effect and banish Fabled Lurrie in my Graveyard to discard Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World from my hand to draw one card." He did so and then added, "And since I discarded him by a card effect, Beiige now returns to the field."

The purple vanguard with the spear and white bone-like armor appeared on the field (A: 1600-1900/D: 1300-1600).

"And then I activate the Continuous Spell, Solidarity," Dark Shadow added, inserting another card into his duel disk. "Now, since all monsters in my Graveyard are Fiends, all face-up monsters of the same Type on my field gain 800 Attack."

Beiige, Grapha and Valkyrus's power jumped up (Beiige A: 1900-2700) (Grapha A:3000-3800) (Valkyrus A: 3200-4000).

"Now, Beiige, attack that black metal dog," Dark Shadow ordered and Beiige shot forward before striking Wroughtweiler with his spear.

"Since you destroyed Wroughtweiler, I can add one Elemental Hero and Polymerization from my Graveyard to my hand," Jaden said and retrieved said cards from his Graveyard.

"Now, Grapha, attack Infernal Sniper," Dark Shadow ordered, not acknowledging Jaden's words and Grapha lashed out with a clawed paw that struck Infernal Sniper, destroying her.

"I activate my Hero Signal Trap. Since you destroyed my monster, I can Special Summon Elemental Hero Woodsman from my Deck in Defense Mode."

A warrior with a tree branch for an arm appeared on the field before kneeling down (A: 1000/D: 2000).

"Fine then. Valkyrus, take out Woodsman," Dark Shadow ordered and Valkyrus shot forward and slammed a fist into Woodsman, destroying him.

"I will end my turn with that," Dark Shadow added.

"I draw," Jaden said, drawing a card and glancing at it. _This could work._ He glanced toward his friends and sister.

"She's still hanging on, Jaden," Arina called when she caught Jaden's look.

"Yeah, so beat this clown so we can all go home, Slacker," Chazz called.

"You certainly are confident that your foster brother can win," Dark Shadow mused.

"I know he can win. If he can face the three Sacred Beasts and win against them, he can win against you," Chazz retorted.

Dark Shadow scoffed.

Jaden, however, smiled a little at his foster brother's confidence in his ability to win and then returned his attention to Dark Shadow. "I activate Graceful Charity so I can draw three cards as long as I discard two," he said and did so before adding, "Next, I activate Polymerization and fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Knospe in order to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Gaia in Attack Mode."

The clay warrior and the little rosebud monster fused together to create the large black armored warrior with a gauntlet on which were three blasters on each arm (A: 2200/D: 2600).

"And when Gaia is Fusion Summoned, I can target your Fabled Valkyrus and reduce its Attack by half and then increase Gaia's own Attack by the same amount," Jaden added as Valkyrus got weaker (A: 4000-2000) and Gaia got stronger (A: 2200-4200).

"Now, Gaia, take out Fabled Valkyrus," Jaden ordered and Gaia shot forward before slamming a fist into Valkyrus, causing him to cry out as he shattered.

**Jaden: 1800**

**Dark Shadow/Kaage: 1300**

"And then I place two cards facedown and end my turn and Gaia's strength returns to normal," Jaden added, inserting two cards into his duel disk as Gaia's power powered down (A: 4200-2200). He was starting to get tired and his body still ached but he had to win this duel, and quickly.

"Then it's my turn," Dark Shadow said, drawing a card. "I activate The Gates of Dark World's effect and banish Zure from my Graveyard to discard one card from my hand and draw a card." He did so and then added, "And since I discarded Gren, Tactician of Dark World to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can target one Spell or Trap card on the field and destroy it and I choose the facedown on your right." He pointed.

"I'll activate it first, my Elemental Recharge Trap, to regain 1000 Life Points for every face-up Elemental Hero I control," Jaden said, revealing the facedown and he was surrounded by a white light that eased the ache in his body for a bit right before the card shattered.

**Jaden: 2800**

**Dark Shadow/Kaage: 1300**

"I still have my two monsters. Grapha, take out Gaia," Dark Shadow ordered and Grapha attacked, slamming a clawed paw into Gaia and destroying the Fusion monster; the aftershock sent Jaden to the ground once again.

**Jaden: 1200**

**Dark Shadow/Kaage: 1300**

"Beiige, end this and attack the little monster directly," Dark Shadow ordered as Jaden pushed himself to his knees.

"I activate my facedown, The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh to Special Summon Winged Kuriboh from my Deck in Defense Mode," Jaden said quickly, pressing a button on his duel disk and his winged duel spirit partner appeared on the field with a little coo (A: 300/D: 200).

"Beiige, take out that winged furball instead," Dark Shadow said flatly and Beiige attacked Winged Kuriboh, destroying it.

Jaden mentally apologized to Winged Kuriboh.

"I end my turn. I'll just take you out next turn," Dark Shadow said.

Jaden drew a card and looked at it before holding it out. "I activate Fifth Hope and I can use it to return Elemental Heroes Burstinatrix, Clayman, Bubbleman, Woodsman and Ocean from my Graveyard to my deck and draw three cards instead of two since I have no cards in my hand or on my field right now." He did just that and then added, "And next I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." He did so and held out another card. "I also activate E-Emergency Call to add Elemental Hero Burstinatrix from my Deck to my hand." He retrieved said card.

"You're certainly using up a lot of time and, by the looks of it, your sister doesn't have much time left," Dark Shadow mused, glancing at the group watching the duel.

"I'm ending this here and now," Jaden said firmly, holding up one of the cards he had drawn. "I activate Double Fusion and pay 500 Life Points so that I can Fusion Summon twice this turn." He winced as his Life Points fell a little.

**Jaden: 700**

**Dark Shadow/Kaage: 1300**

"First off, I use the effect of Double Fusion to fuse Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix in order to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman in Attack Mode," Jaden added and Burstinatrix and Avian fused together to form a large red and green warrior with a white wing jutting out of its back and a dragon's head in place of one of its arms (A: 2100/D: 1200).

"And next, by using the effect of Double Fusion, I fuse Flame Wingman with Elemental Hero Sparkman in order to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman in Attack Mode."

Flame Wingman and a blue-and-gold armored warrior fused together to create a new monster. This one seemed to glow so brightly that everyone had to shield their eyes; it was a warrior in shining silver armor with large silver wings (A: 2500/D: 2100).

"It's still not strong enough to beat me," Dark Shadow said.

"Shining Flare Wingman's effect allows him to gain 300 Attack for every Elemental Hero in the Graveyard and I currently have nine," Jaden said and Dark Shadow's eyes widened in shock and anger as Shining Flare Wingman began to glow brighter than before (A: 2500-5200).

"This duel is over! Shining Flare Wingman, destroy Beiige and end this! Solar Flare!" Jaden shouted.

Shining Flare Wingman glowed brightly as he shot forward to attack.

Dark Shadow snarled in fury. _I can't believe that little brat beat me again! I will get him back for this, one day, I will,_ he thought and then pushed Kaage back into control before fleeing himself, intent on regaining some of his power and come up with yet another plan to defeat the little brat once again.

Even if he had to team up with an old ally again in order to do so.

Kaage, himself, was not happy that Dark Shadow had not been able to pull out a victory but he was determined to take the little monster with him. "Even if you do win, you've still lost. You may get your little girlfriend and friend back but your brother and sister are dead," he shouted at Jaden, removing the remote and then pressing it to ensure that even if he died, he was taking the little monster with him.

"Kasumi ain't dead yet, you bastard," Chazz shouted. "She's still alive."

"What?!"

_How is that possible? She should have died by now with the lack of medical attention. There is no way she could still be alive,_ Kaage thought.

"She is," Atticus said firmly.

Kaage scowled furiously and then yelped as the blast of light from Shining Flare Wingman struck Beiige and destroyed him. The resulting aftershock sent Kaage flying off his feet and knocked out the last of his Life Points.

**Jaden: 700 WINNER**

**Kaage: 0**

The psychopath fell to the ground, motionless, and the eight crystals around his neck shattered. Eight orbs of light flew into the air and shot off in the same general direction, heading toward the hospital in Honolulu. Then the wall of purple-black shadows that was preventing Arina, Atticus and Chazz from leaving vanished.

Atticus bolted, phone in hand as he ran toward the path to the top of the bluff in the hope of finding a place with service to call for help.

Unfortunately, while Kaage had fallen, he had done one last thing to try to take out Jaden. Before the exhausted Slifer could grab the key, the countdown hit zero and the anchor fell, sending up a large splash of water and, with a yelp, Jaden was dragged along with it.

Chazz was in motion even before the countdown hit zero. He removed his deck box and then ran toward the platform as the final seconds ticked by.

"Jaden!" Arina cried.

Chazz snatched the key Jaden had been unable to grab in time. Wordlessly, he then dived into the ocean after the rapidly falling anchor.

**. . .**

1: This is originally a Synchro monster but my beta-reader and I have changed to a Ritual monster. The changed card stats as well as the Ritual Spell stats that was created for the changed card are listed below.

_Roar of the Demon Gods_

Ritual Spell

This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Fabled" Ritual Monster. You must also Tribute monsters from the field or your hand whose total Levels equal the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon.

_Fabled Valkyrus_

8

LIGHT  
Fiend/Ritual/Effect

ATK: 2900

DEF: 1700

This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell Card, "Roar of the Demon Gods". Once per turn, you can discard 1 Fiend-Type monster to draw one card.

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: oh man, I'm only one chapter away from finishing this story!**

**Chazz: yeah and only seven chapters into **_**White Radiance**_

**Blaze: well, I'll still at least be ahead and I have decided that I will post the first chapter of **_**White Radiance **_**on the same day that I post the last chapter of **_**Chained. **_**In other words, when I finish **_**Chained **_**next week, the first chapter of **_**White Radiance **_**will be posted within minutes of that.**

**Darth: awesome. What about your ARC-V story?**

**Blaze: I'm rewriting a portion of chapter 1. Once I have it to where I am satisfied with it, I will post it**

**Yuya: cool so anything else you want to tell us about this story?**

**Blaze: well, other than the fact that I am planning on creating a series of oneshots set in the universe I created with this series, nope**

**Yuto: very well, then will you be ending the chapter now?**

**Blaze: yup. I have to end it now anyway and go stop Bakura from blowing up the Hover Dam again. So I hope that you enjoyed this chapter (and please don't kill me for yet another cliffhanger. I do like them) and the next chapter will be posted next Sunday or Monday (depending on when I get it back from my beta-reader). As always, reviews are much appreciated.**


	18. Family Reunion

**I have finally come to the end of **_**Chained!**_** I am so happy! I would like to give a general thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story since the very beginning. You guys are awesome.**

**Thank you to **_**DarkZorua100, Guest, decode9, Sophhascoconuts, Guest, dragonrider90, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, Misty Azalea Fairy, Reven228, iloveyugiohGX93, Lightclaw's Shadow, EndlessNight025, Sorcerer of the Stories **_**and **_**a1993**_** for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.**

**And, as usual, a huge thank you to **_**EndlessNight025 **_**for being an awesome beta-reader!**

**Well, here is the conclusion, the final chapter of **_**Chained **_**has arrived! And the first chapter of **_**White Radiance **_**will be posted within minutes of this chapter being posted so keep a look out for that. I hope that you enjoy this conclusion and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**18**

**Family Reunion**

Alexis slowly cracked her eyes open.

She felt tired, weak, as if she had been asleep for a very long time. Her body was exhausted, her movements sluggish as she attempted to bring herself back into full wakefulness. Bright fluorescent lights stabbed at her eyes, blinding them momentarily and she blinked them a few times as they slowly adjusted.

She turned her head, noticing she was lying on a white bed in a hospital room; an IV was hooked up to her arm and there was a heart-rate monitor resting beside her bed, beeping at precise intervals. There was one occupied chair also in the room and Alexis recognized the person on it; her aunt Emily.

She struggled to sit up, her body protesting, as her aunt stirred.

Emily lifted her head, rubbing her neck and then turned to Alexis, her eyes widening. "Alexis!" she gasped, standing up and moving to Alexis's side. She took the blonde girl's hand, tears of relief in her eyes.

"You're awake," she whispered. "I was so scared, so worried. The…The doctors said that they didn't know what had caused this and I…and I feared the worst," she rambled.

"I…I'm okay," Alexis rasped, having not spoken for several days.

"Here, let me get you some water," Emily said and walked off to do that. She returned to Alexis and held out the cup and the girl took it before sipping at it.

"I'm going to go get the doctor now," she said.

"W…Where's…Uncle Matt?" Alexis asked, finishing the water.

"He and Keith are visiting Kyle," Emily said quietly. "We don't know what happened to you but the same thing happened to Kyle while...well... Raiden...isn't in the best condition. I'll explain everything later. I'll be right back, Alexis. Rest now."

Alexis nodded slowly and Emily walked out of the room.

She then rested her back against the bed and closed her eyes. _So what happened to me happened to Kyle, too? And something else happened to Raiden? But if I'm awake then that means Kyle's probably awake, too, _she thought. _And that means that Kaage's been defeated, right?_

Her thoughts went to Jaden and she opened her eyes as she wondered what her boyfriend was going through right now. To lose both her and his brother along with one of his friends, it must have hurt a lot.

If Kaage's been defeated then that means that this is all over, she thought, gazing at the ceiling. She was hoping that it really was over; she knew that it would take her time to get over what happened, but she wanted to just put all of this behind her.

She was worried about Jaden, though. He was the one most affected by what has happened, but she resolved to be by her boyfriend and help him in any way that she could. She didn't blame him for what Kaage did; she was sure no one did.

She rested her hand on the silver heart-shaped pendant that rested on her chest_. I hope you are all right, Jaden,_ she thought.

**. . .**

Kyle stirred, blinking his eyes a few times as they adjusted to the light before he looked around.

"Kyle?" his brother said, concerned, as he stood up from his seat near the door.

"Where am I?" Kyle asked, disoriented for a moment.

"The hospital," Keith replied. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been asleep for days," Kyle murmured, slowly sitting up, though his movements were very sluggish.

"You kinda have," Keith said. "No one knows what happened, but at least you're awake now and so is Alexis, from what Dad said. Mom came in here a few minutes ago, telling us that Alexis was awake."

Kyle nodded slowly. "What about everyone else? Are they okay?" he asked.

"Raiden's doing better, though he was injured more severely, but everyone else is all right," Keith said.

"Oh. What happened?"

"He was stabbed."

Kyle's eyes went wide with shock.

"He's doing better, but he's still recovering."

Kyle nodded slowly.

"You okay?" Keith asked.

"I'm okay," Kyle said. He paused and added, "Though I am thirsty."

Keith nodded and straightened. "I'll go get you some water," he said and walked off. He returned a moment later and handed Kyle a cup of water that he took and started sipping.

**. . .**

"I think Mr. Yuki is going to be relieved," Dr. Senna said quietly as she stepped out of the room where Raiden Yuki was currently recovering from the surgery they had just finished. The surgery was a success and, though he would need time to recover, Raiden was going to make a full recovery and should actually be regaining consciousness soon.

"I'd best call him to give him the news," Senna said, more to herself than anyone, though her comrades still heard her.

**. . .**

"Chazz!" Arina gasped, watching as her boyfriend dove into the ocean after the anchor and Jaden's rapidly sinking body. She couldn't help but feel worried, though she was sure Chazz knew how to swim. The waters began to settle a little now that the anchor was beneath the water; it had also dragged Kaage's soulless body into the ocean, though Arina doubted there was much they could do about him.

Arina, where she was kneeling beside the still surprisingly alive Kasumi, kept her gaze fixed on the ocean while Atticus was talking to the police on top of the bluff, telling them about what had happened—though not everything as he was sure they wouldn't believe him anyway—and that Kasumi was badly injured and needed help.

Eventually, Chazz surfaced from the water, gasping for breath and struggling to keep an unconscious Jaden's head above the water.

"Chazz! Jaden!" Arina called and, after a glance at Kasumi and deciding there wasn't much she could do for her anyway, dove into the ocean, swimming toward him and taking Jaden's other arm.

Chazz was gasping breathlessly as they neared the platform and climbed onto it, dragging Jaden's unconscious form onto it.

"Is he all right?"

"I dunno. He was somewhat conscious when I got to him, but he passed out just now," Chazz said, taking a few more deep breaths. "He might've swallowed too much water."

"Do you know how to do CPR?"

Chazz nodded. _You better not die on me, Slacker,_ he thought firmly.

While he performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Jaden while pumping on his chest, Atticus rejoined them. "The police and an ambulance are on the way," he reported. "How's Jaden?"

Jaden coughed, water trickling out of his mouth and Chazz withdrew his hands from Jaden's chest were he had been pumping the boy to get try to get the water out. He coughed several times, turning a little as he coughed up more water, raspy irregular breaths escaping whenever he wasn't coughing.

"He passed out when they got to the surface," Arina said. "But it looks like he's all right now."

"Well, he's no longer unconscious anyway," Chazz said, glancing at his foster brother, who was still coughing and taking deep breaths.

Jaden blinked as he finally got his coughing and breathing under control and he gazed around. "W…What…happened?" he gasped.

"You beat Kaage but apparently you weren't quick enough to grab the key," Chazz said. "And Kaage cheated, causing the anchor to fall into the ocean much sooner than it was supposed to, not that I'm surprised."

Jaden nodded weakly.

"They're sending a helicopter to get us out of here," Atticus said. "I told them about Kasumi's condition. I think they might've been surprised that she's still alive."

Jaden turned his gaze to his sister. Kas, he thought and returned his gaze to his friends and foster brother. "What happened...to Kaage?"

Chazz sighed. "He's still down there. I could only save one, slacker. Frankly, I hope a shark gets him," he said.

'He'd give that poor shark indigestion. I wish I had killed him myself, though,' Haou muttered.

Jaden supposed that a part of him was satisfied that the bastard was probably dead but he did still feel a bit guilty over everything that had happened. A lot had happened in the past couple of days since Kaage Naka came back into his life and, even though everything was done and the bastard was dead, Jaden knew it would take time for him to get over all of this.

**. . .**

When they got to the hospital, Kasumi was taken right away to the emergency room with the doctors. Jaden was guided after them, though his condition wasn't anywhere near as serious as his sister's. They still wished to make sure he didn't have any ailments that could come from nearly drowning.

While they were waiting for any news on Jaden and Kasumi, they were also informed about what happened with their friends. "Alexis and Kyle Rhodes, along with all the others who ended up comatose, have awakened. All but the Rhodes siblings have already left," Dr. Senna informed them.

"What about my brothers? Slade and Jagger Princeton?" Chazz asked, more out of curiosity than anything.

"They were among the first to leave."

"Did they ask about me at all?" Chazz asked.

"No, they did not. I'm sorry."

Chazz ignored the pang of hurt at that, reminding himself that they had already tossed him aside months ago and that he had a new family, and so he didn't need his brothers. "Yeah, all right," he said.

Arina squeezed his hand and smiled at him when he looked at her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes are already here, seeing their son and their niece while Mr. Yuki has already stated that he and his wife were on their way to the hospital," Senna added.

"What about Raiden?" Atticus asked, remembering what they had learned about what happened to Raiden.

"He's going to make a full recovery," Senna told him.

The three of them were relieved by that.

Another half hour went by and the door to the hospital's waiting room opened again, admitting Kaede Yuki and a beautiful woman with long, flowing brown hair that fell over her shoulder and worry-filled brown eyes. She was short, only a few inches taller than Jaden, and slender, dressed in a pale-pink shirt and dark-blue jeans.

Kaede walked over to join Chazz, Arina, and Atticus. "Where's Jaden and Kasumi?" he asked as the woman followed him, that worry growing stronger.

"Back there," Chazz said, gesturing to the ER.

"What happened?"

Chazz told them about what happened to Kasumi, leaving out about the fight and Kasumi's powers, and then about what happened to Jaden at the end. The woman that Chazz figured was Jaden's mother looked horrified.

"Who did this?" she whispered.

"It was Kaage Naka," Chazz said, deciding that Jaden's mother deserved to know the truth.

"Him!?" the woman exclaimed.

"Calm down, Izumi," Kaede said gently.

Izumi glared at her husband, who seemed to cringe away from that glare. "I told you! I told you he was back and that he was likely going to go after you. I told you! Why the fucking hell didn't you do anything about it? Tell the police, at the very least, that a fucking psychopath was running around!"

"I...I didn't think..."

"Of course you didn't think! And, thanks to the fact that you didn't, at the very least, tell the damn police about him, all three of our children are in the damn hospital, and two of them were badly injured!" Izumi had tears falling from her eyes, though her voice didn't raise at all. In fact, it seemed to get quieter the angrier she got.

Dr. Senna walked into the waiting room and over to join them. "Are you Kaede Yuki?" she asked before Kaede could respond to his wife's words.

"Yes, I am," Kaede said, turning to the doctor. "You said you had news on my son Raiden."

"Yes. He's going to make a full recovery," Senna said.

"And what about my other son and my daughter, Jaden and Kasumi? I heard that they were injured as well."

"Your daughter is in critical condition, but we're working with her right now. We will let you know if there are any changes in her condition. Your son is doing fine, though we are running a few tests to make sure there are no ailments since we cannot be sure how long he was underwater. We are also going to keep him overnight for observation."

Kaede nodded and the doctor walked away. Kaede turned to his wife, who gave him a furious glare. "Izumi..."

Whatever he was about to say was cut off when the door to the waiting room opened again and Detective Storm and Detective Coral walked into it. They immediately joined Kaede, Izumi, Chazz, Arina, and Atticus. "Mr. Yuki," Detective Storm greeted him.

"Detective, what brings you here?" Kaede asked.

"We are actually here to speak with them," Storm said with a nod at Chazz, Arina, and Atticus. "They called 911 requesting a helicopter for your son and daughter and we'd just like to ask them a few questions."

"We didn't do anything wrong," Atticus said.

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't," Storm agreed. "However, you were found near an illegal duel arena and there is evidence suggesting that something else happened there and we would like to know what. We are already searching the cove for any evidence to tell us what happened, but if you could tell us, it would make our investigation much easier. So will you answer our questions?"

"Don't we need a lawyer?" Chazz asked.

"You aren't being charged with anything, so no you don't," Detective Coral said.

Chazz folded his arms across his chest. "Fine," he said.

"All right, our first question is what do you know about that illegal duel arena?" Storm asked, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen.

"Nothing," Chazz said.

"When we saw it, we were all surprised that it was there," Atticus added.

Storm nodded, writing that down. "Why where you in that area to begin with? It has been dangerous to be out and about with that attacker still roaming the area," he said.

"Well, we were there 'cause of that," Atticus said and glanced at Arina and Chazz before adding, "Kaage Naka knocked us out and took us all to that duel arena, after he tried to kill Kasumi."

Izumi's glare seemed to intensify as she gazed at her husband, who looked away and down, guilt could be read all over his posture.

"He forced Jaden into dueling him," Chazz explained. "And we're pretty sure we were brought there because Kaage wanted witnesses."

"Witnesses to what?"

Chazz, Arina, and Atticus exchanged glances again, hesitating before Chazz decided to just come out and say it. "To him killing Jaden," he said.

"The bastard," Izumi growled.

"What motivation would Naka have for wanting to kill Jaden?" Storm asked.

"Other than his personal vendetta against me, I don't know. He could have wanted to kill Jaden just to get back at me," Kaede suggested.

"And, of course, you didn't think to _warn_ anyone about him before he got here, because that would be _such_ a bad idea," Izumi scoffed, glaring at her husband and he looked away again.

"What happened next?" Storm asked.

Chazz outlined what happened after they arrived at the cove, leaving out the part about the Shadow Games, but including the incident with the anchor. "Kaage was so confident that he would win in that duel that he risked his own life," he said. "But he lost the duel and got knocked out. The anchor fell and took Jaden with it before he could free himself from his chain, so I jumped in to get to him."

"And Naka?"

"I dunno. I barely got Jaden out of the water before running out of air. I doubted I would have had enough time to get both of them out," Chazz said. He didn't feel particularly bad about what happened to Kaage; yes, he pitied what happened to the psychopath but Kaage chose his own fate and Chazz was not about to shed a tear at the psychopath's death. As he said before, he hoped a shark got him.

"We'll need to send a squad and see if we can find Naka, if he's still alive," Storm said.

Coral nodded, pulling out her phone and walking away.

"I will need to speak to Jaden Yuki, though, to figure out his side of the story," Storm said.

"Jaden wouldn't kill anyone," Izumi said venomously.

Chazz, Arina, and Atticus knew that wasn't true, but they remained quiet.

"I don't think that he was responsible for what happened to Kaage Naka, but I would still like a statement from him," Storm explained, which seemed to calm Izumi down.

The door opened and Dr. Senna walked into the waiting room; she was followed by Matt, Emily, and Keith, the first two of who were going over what appeared like paperwork. Behind them, looking tired but otherwise all right, were Alexis and Kyle.

"Lexi!" Atticus gasped and immediately dashed forward, grabbing his little sister into a hug. "Oh thank goodness you're all right!"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Atticus, could ya please let go? I'd kinda like to not go back into the hospital for broken ribs," Alexis gasped.

With a sheepish smile, Atticus released his sister and then turned to Kyle. "Glad you're all right, too, cuz," he said.

"Glad to be all right," Kyle said with a tired smile. "I'm still tired as hell, though."

"Where's Jaden, Raiden, and Kasumi?" Alexis asked.

"I'll tell you later," Chazz said.

Alexis nodded slowly.

**. . .**

Jaden woke up, finding himself lying on a hospital bed. He gazed around for a moment, his body ached but it wasn't that bad and his throat felt scratchy, no doubt due to how much salt water he had swallowed. It was the following morning and rays of sunlight were streaming in through the windows, bathing the white room in a bright light.

Jaden felt only a little rested, though he wasn't sure if that was because his body was still aching from the direct attacks he sustained during his duel or if it was something else entirely. Sighing, he rested his head on the headboard and closed his eyes.

'_Are you okay, Judai?_' Yubel asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just glad that this is all over," Jaden said.

Yubel placed a ghostly hand on Jaden's shoulder. '_Yes, now you can enjoy the rest of your break like you were supposed to from the beginning,_' she said.

Jaden smiled a little and turned as the door opened and Dr. Senna walked in.

"Good morning, Jaden," she greeted him.

"Good morning, doctor," Jaden replied.

"How do you feel today?" Senna said, handing Jaden a cup of water and he started sipping it.

"I'm okay."

"Would you feel up to speaking to a few people?"

"Who?"

"Detective Storm and Detective Coral. They would like to hear your side of the story for what happened in the cove. They already have talked to your friends'," Senna said.

Jaden frowned but nodded. _Might as well get it over with,_ he thought. He hoped that he wouldn't get arrested, though.

'_You aren't to blame for what happened to Kaage,_' Yubel said.

The door opened and Storm and Coral walked in before Jaden could respond to Yubel's words.

"Good morning, Jaden. May I call you Jaden?" Storm asked.

Jaden nodded.

"Now, we won't stay long, but we would like to clarify some things. Would you please tell us what happened?"

'_Don't_ _tell him about the duel being a Shadow Game,_' Yubel advised.

_I doubt they'd believe me anyway,_ Jaden thought as he outlined what happened, from when Kaage kidnapped him—he just told them that he didn't remember how because he had been knocked unconscious, which was essentially true—to when Chazz rescued him after the anchor had dragged him into the ocean.

Storm nodded, writing down what Jaden said on the notepad.

"Am I in trouble?" Jaden asked.

"I don't see why you would ask. You haven't done anything wrong," Storm said. "All of this was Naka's fault."

"What about Kaage? What happened to him?" Jaden asked.

"You don't have to worry about him. He won't be bothering you anymore," Coral said.

Jaden knew what that meant but he said nothing for a moment. Though he did feel a little guilty, Jaden wasn't about to shed any tears for that psycho, not after everything Kaage has done to him.

"At least he won't hurt anyone else now," Jaden said out loud, his expression emotionless for the moment before hope and concern filled his eyes. "What about those who were attacked? Are they okay? And my brother and sister?"

"From what Dr. Senna said, all those who were comatose have woken up. As for your siblings, I believe it would be best if you spoke to Dr. Senna."

Jaden nodded, fervently hoping his siblings were all right.

Storm stretched. "Thank you for your cooperation, Jaden," he said and he and Coral left the hospital room.

**. . .**

Later that day, almost as soon as Jaden stepped foot in the waiting room to meet his family, he was pulled into a tight hug by his mother.

"Mom…can't…breathe," he gasped.

Izumi loosened her grip and gazed down at him. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm okay, Mom," Jaden said, hugging his mother back and then releasing her and glancing uncertainly at the others. He briefly noticed his siblings weren't there but he had learned from Dr. Senna that Raiden was going to make a full recovery and Kasumi was stable at the moment, and that she was also going to cover.

Dr. Senna had said that it was a miracle considering how badly injured she was.

Jaden walked toward where Kyle was talking with his brother. Kyle spotted him and, saying something to Keith, walked over to join him. "Hey, Jaden," he greeted him quietly.

"Hey, Kyle, listen, I'm sorry," Jaden began quietly.

"It's not your fault," Kyle said with a shake of his head.

Jaden chewed on his lower lip and Kyle placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for what that psychopath did," he said.

"Yo, Kyle, Celina wants to talk to you," Atticus called.

"Wait, why?" Kyle asked, confused.

"I just called her to tell her that you were out of the hospital."

"Where did you get her number?"

"Oh, I borrowed it when you were first admitted to tell her about what happened 'cause she's your girlfriend and all," Atticus said brightly.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Kyle exclaimed, blushing.

Atticus snickered and held out the phone.

Kyle walked to him and took it. "Hey, Celina," he said into it. "Yeah, I'm okay." He walked off and Jaden didn't hear what else he said.

He suddenly felt arms encircle his waist and he turned to find Alexis standing behind him, gazing at him with a small smile on her face. "Hey, Jay," she said softly.

Jaden gave her a small, sad smile. "Hey, Lex," he said softly. "I'm…"

Alexis didn't even let him finish. She just leant forward and pressed her lips to his in a gentle but passionate kiss. Jaden blinked but kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss, feeling her arms wrap around his neck.

They pulled free a few moments later for some air and Jaden pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry about all of this, Lex," he said quietly. "I never wanted anyone to get hurt."

"I know, and it isn't your fault," Alexis said. "It's Kaage's. But let's not think about it now. It's over and done with. Kaage's gone and we're all safe." She kissed him again before he could say anything, not that he minded at all.

**. . .**

Three days went by and, after those three days, Raiden and Kasumi were released from the hospital with orders to take it easy and to see a doctor when they got back to Japan just to be on the safe side.

They were both shocked to find that their mother was there, though, and Izumi had hugged them and probably wouldn't have let them go if Kaede hadn't gently reminded her that they were still hurt. Though that prompted Izumi to glare at Kaede and growl, "And whose fault is that?!" and then stalk off, leaving a sad Kaede watching her go.

Jaden had been the next one to hug them, crying softly. He couldn't help it, not when he had seen what happened to Kasumi in front of his very eyes and learned the same thing had happened to Raiden. Even if the doctors hadn't said anything about how slim their chances were of surviving, Jaden knew that they were small.

"Shh, it's okay, Jay, we're okay," Kasumi assured her brother, hugging him.

"Yeah, Judai, everything's fine now," Raiden said softly, also wrapping his arms around his brother.

"I thought I lost you two," Jaden whispered, burying his face into Raiden's chest and clinging to him.

"We're okay, Judai, we're okay," Raiden assured him again, rubbing his back gently.

They were okay, for which Jaden was relieved, but he knew that it was unlikely he would be okay with what happened for a while.

But, at least his siblings, his girlfriend, and his friend were all right.

That was all that mattered right now.

**. . .**

"Well, all's well that ends well," Raiden commented as the gang all gathered in the lobby of the hotel. Two days had gone by since Raiden and Kasumi were released from the hospital and things were gradually getting back to normal, as normal as it could be with everything that had just happened.

Kasumi leaned back on the couch. "I'm just glad that this is over," she admitted softly, knowing that Raiden was trying to get everyone's mind off what happened. She still couldn't help but think about what happened though and she knew it was likely she would have nightmares for a while now. Perhaps she should take her adopted dad's advice and see a therapist along with Jaden.

"I agree," said Arina, resting her head on Chazz's shoulder.

"And now we can just have fun for the rest of the summer," Atticus said brightly, jumping to his feet.

"What are you doing?" Raiden asked curiously.

Atticus grinned. "I'm gonna go find a pretty lady and set her up on a date with you," he said.

"Atticus! Don't you dare," Raiden growled, grabbing Atticus's arm and yanking him back into his seat.

Kasumi shook her head. "Your brother sure is something," she said.

"I'm still trying to figure out if we really are related," Alexis said with a sweatdrop.

Arina chuckled.

Jaden was seated in an armchair, gazing out the window, though he wasn't sure what he was looking at. He wasn't paying much attention to what his friends and family were saying, though; his thoughts were on Kaage and on everything that happened. He knew it was unlikely he would ever forget what happened.

'_No one can forget something like this, Judai,_' Yubel said gently.

"I know, Yubel," Jaden said quietly. He paused and then added, "Dad wants me to see a therapist when we get back to Japan. Me, Kasumi and Raiden. Raiden insists that he doesn't need it but I think Kasumi is leaning towards going."

'_I_ _think a therapist might be able to help you overcome this,_' Yubel said.

"I don't need a therapist, Yubel. I didn't need one after what happened with those kidnappers or with Kaage the first time, and I don't need one now," Jaden said, narrowing his eyes. He didn't want to talk about his problems or anything like that. He could overcome this just as he overcame what happened to the kidnappers and Kaage last time.

'_Judai, you haven't completely overcome what happened over nine years ago and you know it and, this time I believe, matters were worse,_' Yubel said.

Jaden ignored her. He didn't need any help. He could deal with this on his own, just as he had after the last two times something like this had happened.

Yubel sighed but said nothing more.

"Hey, Jaden, are you okay?" Kasumi called.

Jaden glanced at her. "I'm okay," he assured her.

She didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Kas," Jaden snapped irritably. "I'm going to the room." He walked off, wanting to be alone at the moment.

Kasumi watched him go and sighed. "I guess everything that's happened has affected all of us pretty badly," she said softly.

Alexis nodded in agreement. "Are _you_ okay, Kasumi?" she asked.

Kasumi was silent for a long moment, thinking back to everything that happened and then glanced at Alexis with a forced smile on her face. "I will be," she said, hoping she sounded reassuring. "I'm going to see a therapist when we get back to Japan."

Arina sat up. "What about Jaden, and you Raiden?" she said, glancing toward Raiden.

Raiden waved his hand dismissively. "Jaden needs the help more than I do. I'm fine," he said.

Rogue, who was floating in spirit form next to Raiden, gave him a look that clearly said she didn't believe him but Raiden ignored the look.

"And I'm not sure about Jaden honestly," Raiden added.

"I think he could benefit from seeing a therapist," Alexis said.

"So can Raiden," Atticus said with a pointed glance at Raiden.

"I'm fine," Raiden insisted.

Atticus also gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe him either.

None of them noticed it when Chazz slipped out of the lobby, except Arina, but she said nothing.

**. . .**

Jaden rested against the railing on the balcony of the hotel room, gazing at the ocean, feeling guilty for snapping at Kasumi like that. She was only concerned, he knew that. _Why did I snap at her?_ he thought.

'_Your_ _emotions are unstable,_' Yubel said. _'This is another reason why I think you should agree to your father's suggestion and see a therapist, Judai._'

"I don't need to see a therapist, Yubel," Jaden snapped and then winced when he saw the hurt look in Yubel's eyes. "I'm sorry, Yubel."

"You know, Slacker, I think Yubel's right."

Jaden turned to find Chazz leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed across his chest. "It couldn't hurt," Chazz added.

'_And_ _it could help you put all of this behind you,_' Yubel said.

"I did with the other two times this happened," Jaden pointed out.

'_Yes, but I believe this time was worse. And, like Chazz said, it couldn't hurt. Just think about it, Judai, please?_' Yubel said.

Jaden sighed. "I'll think about it," he said. "So, why are you here, Chazz?"

Chazz shrugged.

'_He came to check up on you and make sure you're all right,_' Ojama Yellow said brightly, appearing in front of Chazz.

Chazz scowled at the Ojama spirit but didn't contradict his words.

Jaden smiled a little. "I won't tell anyone, Chazz," he said. "Thanks."

Chazz grunted. "Whatever," he said.

The two of them fell silent for a moment, then: "So what are you going to do when you get back to Japan?" Jaden asked.

Chazz shrugged. "My brothers didn't even bother on contacting me when they left the hospital, so I dunno. I'll probably just rent a hotel room 'till school starts. I've got enough money left to do that," he said.

"You can stay with us," Jaden offered. "I can talk to Mom and Dad about it. We've definitely got enough room."

"I don't need charity," Chazz said shortly.

"It's not charity, Chazz. We're family, aren't we?"

Chazz was silent for a long moment. "Yeah, we are," he said quietly.

Jaden smiled. "So what do you say?"

The other boy shrugged. "I guess," he said.

"Great. I'll go talk to Dad," Jaden said. He paused and added, "After I apologize to Kasumi for snapping at her." He left the room.

Chazz watched his foster brother go and smiled a little.

He knew that what happened this summer was not something that they will be able to overcome right away, especially not Jaden, and they would likely never forget it. But Chazz had gained something from all of this; he had gained a new family, someone who was willing to care for him as a brother rather than as a pawn. He didn't know if this would have happened had Kaage Naka not come into the picture, but it had. He knew there was no point in thinking about 'what ifs'.

Jaden poked his head back into the room. "Are you coming, Chazz?" he asked.

Chazz nodded and followed his foster brother out of the hotel room.

The past was the past and, while no one would ever forget what happened, they could overcome it. Chazz, his friends, and his new family had gone through hell and back in their struggle to survive against Kaage Naka's ruthless vengeance and it had left its scars on everyone.

But it also chained them together as friends and as family.

**. . .**

**To Be Continued**

**. . .**

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: WOOHOO! I have finally finished CHAINED! YAY!**

**Bakura: gah! What is with your screaming?**

**Blaze: (hands Bakura a see-through wall gun from **_**Perfect Dark**_**) oh go blast Viper. And I don't own **_**Perfect Dark**_** by the way**

**Bakura: (takes gun) gladly**

**Viper: (takes off running)**

**Yami Marik: wait! I'm joining you (takes other see-through wall gun and joins Bakura)**

**Ryou: (sweatdrops) why do you encourage his violent tendencies?**

**Blaze: it keeps him happy**

**Jesse: so we're going on to **_**White Radiance **_**now?**

**Blaze: yup. **_**White Radiance **_**will be posted within a few minutes of this chapter being posted so keep an eye out for it. I hope that you enjoyed this conclusion to this story and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**


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